Are they allowed to do this?

I hope i have posted this in the right area..

DP had an interview last week with Aldi. He applied for Assistant Manager. So he had the interview with the Area manager. And after the interview she said if he is successful he will have to:

Shave his beard

and

Pay to fly to sydney to have another interview with her boss as she can't hire new managers

My questions are, are they allowed to tell him to shave his beard? he has always had either a goatee or a beard like he does now. They say that all employees have to be completely clean shaven.. if he refuses then he doesnt have the job.

Also are they allowed to say to him that HE has to pay to go to Sydney for another interview... why didnt the big manager come down and interview him himself.. we don't have that kind of money..

But DP's dead set against taking the job because of these two things..

Cleanly shaven is often a requirement for jobs so yes they can. Its about presentation and can be about food safety guide lines (i was manager at HJ and because you can not wear hair net on your chin it was required you were cleanly shaven)

as for the flights.. to me if they were hiring then they would have made appropraite arragnements themselves for interviews so i dont think paying for flights is right

I think that if he is working with food, facial hair is a no no.....but not 100% on that........as for paying to fly to the interview....that's a bit rich.....I wouldn't be too keen on the job if that's what they expect of people BEFORE they hire them! Imagine what they'll expect once he's an employee!!

I agree with Beatrix, the clean shaven requirement sounds legal (if a little overkill as a beard can look very presentable). However if they wish for him to go to Sydney I would suspect they should be making the arrangements as it is not unrealistic that a person would find this a financial burden.

Perhaps your OH could suggest a phone or webcam interview if they will not pay for the flights?

DP used to be the seafood manager at woolies, he was also 3IC of deli and he was allowed to keep his beard, he had to have it cut all the way back at all times. So thats why i'm surprised at what they said, as Aldi well the one we have here he wouldn't be dealing with food itself, its all in packages....

I do agree that they can ask him to be clean shaven. Just as they would ask him to remove any facial piercings, or have any tattoo's completely covered up if they were a problem.
I do however think its unfair for him to have to pay for the flight. By rights, if they want him to go that far from home & where the job is, they should arrange that, or have the boss come to them.

I would get him to seriously consider shaving his beard. It would be a great job to have, & not really a huge price to pay.

i know people who have paid for flights to go to an interview, however there was an alternative option offered to them ie telephone or video interviews.

They can say that flying to sydney is a requirement of the interview process, and then you have the choice whether you won't to go along with it.

I should have added that she also mentioned that pays are paid monthly so that itself was a big no no as i dont see how we could budget properly, and if anything were to go wrong and we needed money we would have to wait another month for money again.

As for his beard, yes he could shave it but honestly it makes him look a lot younger without it, and its not a messy beard at all, he keeps himself well groomed at all times.

But i did find the fact he has to pay for himself to fly to sydney, oh and a place to stay for the night a bit rich and it should have had that outlined on the ad.

We are a bit bummed as the store he applied for is just up the road from us and its a lot more money.

Monthly pay is pretty standard for a job like that, I suspect any managerial job would come with a monthly pay packet. It's hard for the first month but having a credit card or overdraft facility helps the month to month budgeting, and you can often change phone / rent payments so they are also monthly to tie in with the pay.

monthly pays are more common in higher positions,

But either way unfort they are the ones who are hiring so they can chose the presentation of their employees. I myself often think men with goatees are sexy LOL but unfort its their company and dress code so thats how it is.

but def wrong about the flights, and accom. i have heard of people going interstate for interviews but only at the companies expense

I know my husband had a job once doing machine maintenance in a food processing factory and he had the option of shaving his facial hair or wearing a beard net (which went over his ears and covered his goatee), he chose the net but eventually shaved off his goatee as the net was annoying and got in his way.
I'd imagine that working somewhere like Aldi would mean that your DP wouldn't be able to wear a net as he would be in the public eye most of the time, so yes Aldi would be within their right to ask him to shave his facial hair off.
Not sure about the interview in Sydney though.

how much does he want this job? honestly what is a little outlay for a job interview for flights for something that is bigger and better. Ive know people to fly form QLD to Vic for a job.

the goaty thing...bugger me its only hair hon..he can grow it back. He needs to think big picture, job security, more money, a decent position in a good company. He has you and your little girl to think of now, not just himself.

He need's to weigh up what is inportant in his life for the future..and if having a shave and buying an airticket is needed then so be it hon.

:hug:

I'm not thrilled about the paying the flight to Sydney yourself. Seems a bit too much. That said, I know Aldi is run on the smell of an oily rag, so they may just expect if people are desperate enough you'll pay for flights. Or you could drive, not sure what's more expensive.

As for monthly pays. Whilst it takes a while to adjust to, most professional positions are paid monthly. If you're having trouble budgeting, google Simply Budgets - I've found them a life saver in the past. Or you may be able to download a basic excel budget off the internet.

Otherwise, what I used to do is break my pay down into two chunks. First, I'd siphon off 10% for savings into an untouchable savings account, then move over enough $ for automatic deductions (rent, bills, repayments etc). The remainder would get broken down into weekly amounts, the rule being if X is the weekly budget, then that was the most I could spend and I'd live on baked beans if I had to rather than dip into the following weeks allowance.

GL with it.

is there any reason he cant drive to Sydney for the interview????

in the grand scheme of things paying for a flight to Sydney is nothing if he gets the job, a job that pays better and will probably open more doors for him!

as for the beard...... shave it!

I understand not wanting to pay for flights and accom. when there just isnt the money to spare that, maybe there is an alternative? I do think you need to sit him down and explain that getting this job would mean, more money, better security for you and the little one, all those things are more important than a beard IMO. As for budgeting, you can do anything you put your mind too :lol: You could divide the pay up into weekly pays and NOT touch the other, or like someone else said ^^ you could change your bills to monthly... Good luck !

Unfortunately they can tell him to shave his beard. He should really consider it for the sake of a better, higher paying secure job.

It's not uncommon to fly to other cities for an interview especially managerial roles. If it was just a checkout operator role then that would be a bit unreasonable. But you could always look at it that if he goes through and they want him to fly to Sydney then I'd imagine he's got a pretty good chance of getting the job.

ETA: monthly budgets are not hard once you settle in to the pattern. PM me if you want some links and help.

Doing up a yearly budget really helps plan for all kind of bills, and once you have that, it doens't matter if you get paid weekly, fortnighty, monthly or quarterly. And yes, I have friends who are paid quarterly.

If he does fly to Sydney, then it's likely he could fly back the same day, so no overnight accom. Or drive, and return ASAP.

If you want help budgeting, give me a PM.

It's quite common for companies to have a policy on grooming and presentation etc. Some enforce it, others not so much. I used to work for a music/dvd chain who were super strict. No tatts, piercings, crazy hair...male employees weren't allowed to have any kind of facial hair, they were very particular about the presentation of their staff. At the end of the day if you want the job badly enough you'll do what's asked of you.

I think it's a bit rich of them to ask your DP to come up to Sydney at his own expense, but as someone else pointed out Aldi is run very cheaply. To me it sounds like a way to see how interested he is in the job, hell I'd do it. Sometimes you have to stick your neck out a bit to get places. In the end it'll be worth it, Aldi pay their management pretty well.

The facial hair thing isn't uncommon, even if it is a bit poncey.

As for the flights, probably a bit tight on their part, but not surprising for a big chain. A flight from Canberra to Sydney must be pretty cheap? Cheaper than driving nearly?

Ive just checked (cause im looking at flights myself atm)

and I did a return trip for one day and its $65 each way

I have to say the flight thing is not really fair, considering it would be cheaper for everyone if that person just flew into town for one day and did all the interviewing!

The facial hair does not surprise me. My brother was applying for a job and he had long hair which he had had for the last 10 years and they told him that if he offered the job is he willing to get a short back and sides hair cut. As it was my brothers dream job he said yes and had to cut off all of his hair!!! So yes not uncommon!!!

He applied for 2 jobs, one at Aldi and one for Chubb. Chubb was the one he REALLY wanted as it would mean no more retail for him and because he would get a handgun LOL he was really excited about that. Unfort he didnt get the Chubb job, he was gutted and then when Aldi showed interested he was excited but only because it would mean more money.

As for driving, he could but his car is off the road at the moment. He needs a new battery, and it needs a good service so its undriveable. And yes $65 may not seem alot to some people but to us and with our money situation thats what buys us food.

He's looking more into jobs in the public service, hes not really all that happy in retail..

Anywho i need him to stay where he is so i can work out my maternity leave, i want to stay on as an employee but i know my SM will write me off and plus he gets a bonus in September a fairly big one so that will help us out alot.

If he really wants the job then put him on a bus to Sydney - it's not expensive and he could come home the same day (there is one that leaves Sydney later in the evening)

I'm not sure about the maternity leave issue - aren't you casual? It may be easier to find something new once you know what sort of hours you will be wanting to work once the bub comes, rather than pegging your hopes on a job where you say they don't like you.

And with the bonus - September is still 6 months away - do some maths - is the bonus he will get (remember they tax it pretty heavily) more than half of the increase in income he will have if he moves jobs? It may be better to be getting the money earlier.

I wish him luck in the interview if he decides to go for it.

I'm part time at the moment and because iv been there less than a year i dont get maternity leave. So very soon i will have to go casual. And company policy is i have to work atleast one shift a month to stay on as an employee so i need him to stay there so i don't have to and i don't get let off. I want to return back to working there after 6 months or atleast be able to transfer to a different store within the company so maybe woolies or big w.

I have to do this :clap: for you man. How many men sit on their bum's and dont do anything to find a job at all. He is trying and I give him full points for that.
And yes...I can see how $65 is alot...I wasnt trying to be mean :( sorry...just stating how much the flights were.

Has he ever thought about placing his resume in at a bank at all?

Oh maz, sorry i wasnt trying to sound snippy, its just a bit sad on my part that $65 is alot of money to us. :hug:

But yes i do applaud that hes keeping his options open and not sitting on his bum whinging and complaining. The only issue with his job right now is our SM, shes a right cow and causes him so much stress but they've been working well lately hes actually laughing at work now.. but thats always short lived.

He's been having a look at a few different jobs, one i cant for the life of me remember what its for but he gets free gym membership as well as free child care. So i'll be questioning him about that when he gets home.

But hes also worried that if he changes jobs so soon to our bubba coming he wont get time off. He's not able to get paternity leave as he hasnt been in his current position for 12 months but because hes built some good friendships with the other managers he could swing a few weeks off using annual leave or making up lost time later on (so doing 6 day weeks or longer hours) thats something our SM is good with is leave, shes very generous and understands.

remember too that if he earns more money then they would more than make up for you not working that one shift a month

my brother pays $15 each way to bus it from Jolimont to Sydney with either Murrays or Greyhound, the buses are frequent and he might not need to stay overnight

With regard to leave - my DH will have less than 12 months in his current job when bub arrives, so won't be entitled to parental leave. He'll be able to take 2 weeks annual leave. Of course I would prefer he be able to take more time off, but given he was miserable in his last job and this job pays more, thems the breaks and I'll rope Mum in to help more if I can't cope. If he hadn't accrued any annual leave, I'd ask him to take leave without pay, even just for a few days, depending on what we could afford.

As Muppity said, do the maths on the new job's pay vs staying for the bonus (which are never guaranteed anyway). Do the maths on net pay (after tax), as bonus payments can sometimes incur extra tax. Also, if he wants out of retail and the opportunity comes up, then he should grab it when it comes, not wait for bonuses etc.

hope it all works out soon

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But hes also worried that if he changes jobs so soon to our bubba coming he wont get time off. He's not able to get paternity leave as he hasnt been in his current position for 12 months but because hes built some good friendships with the other managers he could swing a few weeks off using annual leave or making up lost time later on (so doing 6 day weeks or longer hours) thats something our SM is good with is leave, shes very generous and understands.

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I wouldn't put too much focus on that at the moment. You need to look at the long term. My DH has recently started a new job, so he won't have much annual leave at all when bub arrives. But that's ok, he's home everynight, so that's the main thing. When I had DD1, DH only took 3 days off work as I didn't really need him at home. Not in the very early days anyway.
So try not to put too much focus on that at this stage. If going to a different job means a higher pay, better benefits etc, then he should grab it with both hands.