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Teenager turned down for job at The Body Shop in Cambridge because she 'did not speak Chinese'
Working in a shop traditionally demands skills in customer service, how to use the till, and some knowledge of what’s on sale.
But a branch of the Body Shop has insisted on one extra qualification – the ability to speak Chinese.
Prospective employee Zoe Churchman says she was turned down for a part-time position at her local store because she cannot converse in Mandarin.
The 18-year-old, who as a hair and beauty student may have been considered an ideal applicant, was taken aback when her local store turned her down for a job because she lacked skills in the language.
When she dropped off her CV at the cosmetics store in Cambridge to apply for a Saturday job, she said a manager told her ability to speak Mandarin is required because ‘all our customers are Chinese students’.
Miss Churchman said: ‘I told him, “I’m a hard worker”, but he said the last person who had the job was English and spoke Chinese. I was really disappointed, the job would have been perfect for me.
‘I never thought I would have to learn Mandarin to get a job selling beauty products in England.’
He said: ‘When Zoe told me, I thought she must have misunderstood, but it kept grating on me and I had to go and check it out.
‘The manager himself said he thought the language requirement was odd, but said he had checked it out with head office. He said to me, “That seems to be the norm”.’
The father-of-three added: ‘He said it was company policy. It’s ridiculous. It’s another example of Britain bending over backwards to accommodate everyone else.
‘It’s fantastic we have so many foreign students in Cambridge. In my experience they are all happy to speak English, which is part of the reason they are here.’
Miss Churchman's father Martin, 52, who lives with her in Over near Cambridge described the ruling as 'absolutely ridiculous'
The former medical clerk added: ‘It makes me so angry. Zoe needs a job and she is such a good worker. It seems so unfair for her to miss out because of such a silly reason.’
The University of Cambridge has 965 Chinese students, most of whom are post-graduates. They make up the largest group in its non-UK student community but are still a minority in the 20,000-strong University of Cambridge population.
Cambridge City Council said the city was increasingly popular with tourists from China, but did not have figures for the size of its Chinese community.
Yesterday a spokesman for The Body Shop, which has 2,400 stores in 61 countries said: ‘The Body Shop believes in equality and seeks to find the right person for the job based on skills, regardless of age, sex, race and nationality.
‘Language skills are an advantage for candidates applying for retail sales positions as we have multi-cultural customer appeal. However, we would not exclude applications on the basis of language alone.
‘In this instance the franchise manager has not followed the company recruitment procedure and we will be following up with him.’
The spokesman said the firm would be happy to discuss recruitment with Miss Churchman if she decided to apply for a post, although she has said she no longer has any interest in working at The Body Shop.
Working in a shop traditionally demands skills in customer service, how to use the till, and some knowledge of what’s on sale.
But a branch of the Body Shop has insisted on one extra qualification – the ability to speak Chinese.
Prospective employee Zoe Churchman says she was turned down for a part-time position at her local store because she cannot converse in Mandarin.
The 18-year-old, who as a hair and beauty student may have been considered an ideal applicant, was taken aback when her local store turned her down for a job because she lacked skills in the language.
When she dropped off her CV at the cosmetics store in Cambridge to apply for a Saturday job, she said a manager told her ability to speak Mandarin is required because ‘all our customers are Chinese students’.
Miss Churchman said: ‘I told him, “I’m a hard worker”, but he said the last person who had the job was English and spoke Chinese. I was really disappointed, the job would have been perfect for me.
‘I never thought I would have to learn Mandarin to get a job selling beauty products in England.’
He said: ‘When Zoe told me, I thought she must have misunderstood, but it kept grating on me and I had to go and check it out.
‘The manager himself said he thought the language requirement was odd, but said he had checked it out with head office. He said to me, “That seems to be the norm”.’
The father-of-three added: ‘He said it was company policy. It’s ridiculous. It’s another example of Britain bending over backwards to accommodate everyone else.
‘It’s fantastic we have so many foreign students in Cambridge. In my experience they are all happy to speak English, which is part of the reason they are here.’
Miss Churchman's father Martin, 52, who lives with her in Over near Cambridge described the ruling as 'absolutely ridiculous'
The former medical clerk added: ‘It makes me so angry. Zoe needs a job and she is such a good worker. It seems so unfair for her to miss out because of such a silly reason.’
The University of Cambridge has 965 Chinese students, most of whom are post-graduates. They make up the largest group in its non-UK student community but are still a minority in the 20,000-strong University of Cambridge population.
Cambridge City Council said the city was increasingly popular with tourists from China, but did not have figures for the size of its Chinese community.
Yesterday a spokesman for The Body Shop, which has 2,400 stores in 61 countries said: ‘The Body Shop believes in equality and seeks to find the right person for the job based on skills, regardless of age, sex, race and nationality.
‘Language skills are an advantage for candidates applying for retail sales positions as we have multi-cultural customer appeal. However, we would not exclude applications on the basis of language alone.
‘In this instance the franchise manager has not followed the company recruitment procedure and we will be following up with him.’
The spokesman said the firm would be happy to discuss recruitment with Miss Churchman if she decided to apply for a post, although she has said she no longer has any interest in working at The Body Shop.
