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Legalities of being asked to supply a photo when applying for a job

Atlantic Dawn

I was recently looking at an office based job advertised which one of the requirements was to supply a photo, is this legal to be asked to provide it? Surely it would be the same as asking an applicant their race as part of the application process and then having the information needed to ditch all those that are x race if the employer was of that frame of mind.

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[Deleted User]

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119979745#Comment_119979745

You don't need to access the building to apply for a job. You need to access the building if you come for interview.

So you ask for photos from the small number that you invite for interview, not the large number that apply for the job.

Go back and read Article 5(1)(c) again - "limited to what is necessary".

[Deleted User]

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119979739#Comment_119979739

Can you come up with any good reason why a photo is necessary to apply for an office job?

ohnonotgmail

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119979758#Comment_119979758

The civil service already do it and what are they but office jobs.

[Deleted User]

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119979771#Comment_119979771

As explained above, they look for a photo when you come for interview, not when you apply, except in a few high security situations, like Gardai.

[Deleted User]

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119979505#Comment_119979505

Receptionist. Person meeting people on behalf of the company. Employee works in fashion and wants all staff to be of a certain aesthetic.

Looks are not an area for discrimination… if someone’s wants a good looking cleaner how is that prohibited?

And as for suggesting the OP highlight themselves as a troublemaker at the interview stage… they’d be doing the employer a favour.

joeguevara

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119979745#Comment_119979745

It would be a legitimate reason for the collection of the photo in order to prepare a temporary pass or to ensure that it was the person required for access. However it would be less legitimate if only a percentage of the applicants were called for a face to face meeting. If it was a requirement for access a photo could be requested at that stage rather than the initial applicant dump.

Atlantic Dawn

Thanks for the replies so far, I can see there could be a need to bring state issued photo ID to an interview or to apptitude tests or to have my photo taken as part of the interview process but I don't see the need to be asking for a photo at the application stage for an office based job and what value that might add to the selection process.

[Deleted User]

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119979805#Comment_119979805

Yeah, I mentioned fashion industry earlier, so there could possibly be a legitimate need there. The employer would need to be prepared to write that down, and explain the rationale for requesting the data, and their retention policy also. I'm not too sure that most employers will be happy to have a written policy about staff being of a certain aesthetic.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119979924#Comment_119979924

Things are generally fairly imbalanced for job applicants. In practical terms, there's a good chance that, if you make a fuss, you'll be reducing your chances of getting through.

If they're asking for a photo, they should be able to explain to you why they need this, and how long they're going to keep it for.

Jim2007

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119978924#Comment_119978924

There is nothing there to say that they can't ask for a photo and in a process where you a meeting several people and making a decision on which person to recruit a picture is a perfectly reasonable way to remember who was who. So long as the data is handled correctly there is nothing illegal about it.

[Deleted User]

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119980268#Comment_119980268

They're not meeting anyone at application form stage. Asking for a photo from a load of people, the majority of whom you're never going to meet in person is very unlikely to pass a GDPR 'limited to what is necessary' test.

SuperBowserWorld

Had a zoom interview recently and 3 of the 2 people interviewing me did not even have their cameras on.

Jim2007

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058275224/legalities-of-being-asked-to-supply-a-photo-when-applying-for-a-job

Do you seriously think that anyone is going to take on a black person, an Asian, an old person etc. if they don't want to just because you got past the filter????

These silly games do is waste your time - filling out applications and attending interview for jobs you will never. The entire process is about discrimination - in the end is about picking the face you feel will best fit into the current situation and that may well come down to age, skin colour, sex, accent, attitude etc.

Mrs OBumble

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119980306#Comment_119980306

How did that make you feel about the job?

[Deleted User]

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119980324#Comment_119980324

What kind of employers do you deal with? Are most employers not focused on ability to do the job?

SuperBowserWorld

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119980388#Comment_119980388

I couldn't stand the interview. Was glad it was over. I wasn't too pushed about the job, just trying to refresh my interview skills, but I could not believe I could not see the people who were interviewing me.

Augme

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119979747#Comment_119979747

Well if the employer isn't going to provide a reason for why they are asking for a photo then obviously it's going to be very difficult for the employer to say why it is necessary.

Mrs OBumble

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119980390#Comment_119980390

Attitude and fit with the team is generally most important. Provided a person has basic skills, they can usually be trained on the technical details easily enough.

walterking

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119980419#Comment_119980419

Many years ago phone interviews were fairly common. You couldn't see those people.

Frankly the standard of some people going for interview is appalling. You'd swear they were doing you a favor by turning up

As for the op, if you don't like it, move on. Plenty of people will supply a photo without hesitation. Many do it automatically - especially if they are from continental Europe

SuperBowserWorld

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119981160#Comment_119981160

If it's a phone interview, fine. Video is impossible.

But a video call ... especially if it's free and after nearly 3 years of being exposed to it because of covid.

Reminds me of people in work on my team that nobody has ever seen ... even on zoom.

[Deleted User]

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119979758#Comment_119979758

To remind the interviewers after the fact of who's who. I've already mentioned that photo is part of the Europass CV template, are you aware of what this is?

[Deleted User]

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119982591#Comment_119982591

A small percentage of applicants are typically called for interview. Why would you collect photos at application stage and not at interview stage?

ejmaztec

First of all they could be filtering out all the people who query having to provide a photo, so the potential trouble makers won't even be called for an interview. The people who provide photos without question could then be filtered, and people with face tattoos, piercings etc removed from the interview list. 😋

[Deleted User]

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119983346#Comment_119983346

That's a great way for the employer to find themselves on the wrong end of DPC fines and WRC judgements. How do face tattoos and piercings impact the ability to do office jobs?

[Deleted User]

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119981051#Comment_119981051

Isn't groupthink great all the same?

Sure who needs universities and professional exams when Mrs OB can train people on the technical details easily enough?

Mrs OBumble

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119983541#Comment_119983541

It's not illegal to discriminate based on them though.

Jim2007

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119980390#Comment_119980390

Banks, insurance companies, professional services, pharma, head hunting... over the past 35 years and I have yet to meet anyone who hired someone they did not like.

In any given situation there are probably 5 or 6 people with the required abilities to do the job, but to be able to do the actual job in a given situation you need to fit in and get along with the other people who work there. If an employer feels you will disrupt the current setup in a negative way, it does not matter how competent you are it is not going to happen.

[Deleted User]

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119983569#Comment_119983569

It is illegal to process data without having a legal basis to do so. Where consent is the legal basis, it needs to be genuine, informed consent, with no consequences for those who don't give consent.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119983626#Comment_119983626

And there was me thinking that all those companies claiming to be disruptors in their sector might need employees who actually disrupt.

That's a recipe for total groupthink.

Jim2007

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119983302#Comment_119983302

Out of interest how many times have you been involved recruiting people and in particular beyond interviewing someone and giving your feedback to the decision makers? People like to give the best picture of themselves, the one they are comfortable with and by asking to take an unexpected picture of them, you are jeopardising a budding relationship with someone you may want to recruit.

[Deleted User]

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119983656#Comment_119983656

Usually, if I'm interviewing, I AM the decision maker, or at least one of a number of decision makers. I've been recruiting since the early 90s. I remember asking candidates if I could take a Polaroid shot of them in those days, long before data protection and GDPR were considered. I agree that taking an unexpected picture of a candidate wouldn't be a great idea, there are many other ways to get a picture, if (and it's a big if) it is actually necessary.

joeguevara

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119983541#Comment_119983541

Hold on a second. Any employer is entitled to have a policy on visible and tattoos. Many office only permit a single pair of sleepers on women and nothing on men equally they can specifiFiscally state clean shaven or neatly trimmed beard. If you are trying to say that it’s illegal for an employer to overlook a candidate because they have a face tattoo , that’s off the wall.