Ann Summers wins jobs battle
Court rules retailer can advertise in Job Centres
June 18 2003
Retailer Ann Summers will be allowed to advertise vacancies in Job Centres after the High Court ruled against a government ban.
Justice Newman ruled that the ban imposed on the UK lingerie and sex toy retailer was illegal. Ann Summers had argued that the ban imposed by the official Jobcentre Plus agency discriminated against the chain unfairly.
Jobcentre Plus, funded by the Department for Work and Pensions starting turning away Ann Summers ads last year. It said job seekers, who risk losing benefit if they refuse a vacancy, could be offended or embarrassed.
The judge ruled Jobcentre Plus had lost sight of its primary purpose of helping people find work, saying it paid “insufficient regard to its legal obligation to assist employers to find vacancies.”
He ruled: “In my judgment, in reaching its decision the defendant lost sight of its statutory purposes and formulated its policy to ban Ann Summers’ advertisements upon a basis which does not stand up to rational scrutiny.
“It appears to have paid no regard to the potential benefit which job seekers could obtain by taking up employment with Ann Summers.”
Chief executive Jacqueline Gold described the ruling as a victory “both for Ann Summers and for common sense.” In court, Gold had argued that other retailers including Selfridges sold sex toys without facing a ban.
The DWP said it would review its options following the ruling.
