Recruitment agency comes under fire over discriminatory job advert

A London-based recruitment agency has been heavily criticised by equality campaigners for advertising jobs with specific requirements relating to looks and clothing size.

Matching Models in London describes itself as “an international temp agency for beautiful and talented people”, and recently advertised for a personal assistant with “a classic look, brown long hair with B–C cup”.

Another job ad on the agency’s website requests a “sexy female driver” to drive a Porsche Cayenne two days a week for between £40,000 and £50,000-a-year for a Knightsbridge-based businessman and polo team owner. The agency’s clients include MTV, Louis Vuitton, Coca-Cola, the Renault Formula 1 team and Harrods.

Under the 2010 Equality Act, it is against the law to say, or imply, that you will discriminate against anyone – including saying that you are unable to cater for disabled workers. Employers are also not allowed to question a candidate’s age, sexual orientation, marital status, number of children or plans to have children, disability, race or religion. With regard to clothing sizes, an employer has to be able to show that it is essential to the nature or context of the work.

Commenting in response to Matching Models recruitment agency advertising jobs only for ‘attractive women’, as well as specifying bra size, Rebecca Hilsenrath, Chief Executive of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, said:

“This is appalling, unlawful and demeaning to women. We will be writing to Matching Models and asking for them to clarify their hiring practices immediately. Matching Models are right about one thing; first impressions count, but the important stuff is not about your hair colour. If they wish to maintain their reputation, they should act like a business in the twenty-first century and consign this type of sexism to the history books.”

Sam Smethers, Chief Executive of women’s equality group, the Fawcett Society, told the BBC: “It is extraordinary that they are taking this approach and almost certainly falls foul of equality legislation. If we ever wonder why the battle for gender equality hasn’t been won, this is a timely reminder.”