7 replies to this topic

[dgsorg]

I have a gentleman that works in my facility that has a waist length (ZZ Top) beard. I do not wish to infringe on his rights by asking him to cut his beard. I have searched high and low for a beard net big enough for him. I have found several that claim to be xl but they are the same size as the one-size-fits-all standard issues that we have. Can anyone tell me of a company that markets a true xl beard net or offer another solution for this situation?

[Simon]

I have a gentleman that works in my facility that has a waist length (ZZ Top) beard. I do not wish to infringe on his rights by asking him to cut his beard. I have searched high and low for a beard net big enough for him. I have found several that claim to be xl but they are the same size as the one-size-fits-all standard issues that we have. Can anyone tell me of a company that markets a true xl beard net or offer another solution for this situation?

I understand you do not wish to infringe on his rights, but it is a foo dfactory and you have to play by the rules. For me he should plat it up to make it small enough to fit in a beard snood or he needs to trim it down.

[MKRMS]

Hi dsorg,

I take it that said employee is working in an area where open food or food packaging is stored or handled.

I agree with Simon. By not infringing with his personal rights you are allowing him to infringe with your business's duty to produce safe food - In your opinion as a manager (or even owner) of the facility, which is more important? Imagine what will happen to your business if something goes wrong (e.g. customer complaint about hair, unrelated to said employee)? Will food inspectors also value the personal right of your employee to wear a beard as he pleases higher than your duty as a food business operator to produce safe food? I would severely doubt that.

Snoods, in my opinion, are not sufficient to contain a beard of this extreme length. I imagine you would need one the size of a small pillow case. The weight of the beard alone would make wearing such a snood completely impractical.

One solution could be to move said employee out of production - offer him a job in admin and cite food safety and health and safety reasons (what happens if his beard gets caught in moving machine parts?). The alternative would be to speak to said employee and explain the situation - and hope for his understanding that he now has to choose between his style of grooming and his job. This might be difficult to explain if the employee had his beard when he was first taken on - or if he was allowed to work with his beard for a considerable length of time (e.g. while he grew it).

My general advice is that anyone taken on for food preparation or processing must understand at the time of hiring (e.g. in the job interview) that attire or grooming has to be in line with food safety and health and safety standards. That will prevent the problem by either allowing the candidate to decline the job or by reconsidering his/her style of grooming before starting work. If he/she still wants the job but does not want to change attire or grooming, you can refuse to take him/her on because of the need for compliance.

In any case, you should draw up house rules that define the limits of extravagant grooming and dressing - and make them mandatory for anyone working in (food) processing. If you don't already have a personal hygiene policy that explains the dos and don'ts in your facility, maybe now is the time to draw one up and make it (change management!) mandatory for all employees. Accompany the change with refresher training in personal hygiene for everyone - to communicate the need for change - and enforce the new policy after a set deadline (e.g. a week/several days/immediately after refresher training has been received). Important: You need to be seen to apply the new rules equally to anyone in the business or factory - so if someone else does not comply, this person must also be held responsible.

Hope that helps.

Matt

Edited by MKRMS, 17 May 2011 - 08:28 AM.

[Dukebagman]

I am also searching for extra large beard snoods... We have a Rabbi that will be supervising our Kosher production and his beard is just huge. It has become a joke in the factory that we have to use three beard snoods and the hair is still pushing out of the bottom or the top! If anyone can suggest where I can get hold of some Rabbi proof beard snoods I would be most grateful.

I understand the position that one mans beard should not impact on your food safety policy but I cannot ask the man to trim his beard in this instance, he is also only ever on site for a few hours and only on specific occaions in the year. At the end of the day Kosher production is a comercial project and I have to be able to control the guys beard while he is in the factory. I do not want to have to explain to my diectors that I have stopped the project beacuse I will not let the Rabbi into the factory, conversly I still have to manage our commitment to food safety!

Standard issue beard snoods are just not sufficeint in this instance.

Any help on this one would be appriciated!

[Simon]

I would put the responsibility on the Rabbi; politely ask him if he could bring his own beard snood next time. You are wanting to fulfil his requirements and become a Kosher certified plant and he should respect your needs and requirements relating to food safety. The Rabbi will visit many plants in a year so it makes sense for him to have his own kit.

Regards,
Simon

[whiteknightzk]

It's probably not going to be "kosher" to insist that the Rabbi inspecting your facility either trim his beard or bring his own beard snood (How would you maintain control on the hygiene of the snood?).  

 

The answer is always out there, or else you've found a vertical integration opportunity and should capitalize on it.  I couldn't find oversized beard nets, either, so I started looking for a beard net manufacturer to co-pack some for me to start selling online.  Then, I came across a supplier with low enough pricing that I just wouldn't be able to compete with:

 

I found some oversized beard snoods manufactured by Keystone and DuPont, both distributed by Grainger Industrial Supply.  They carry 4 sizes of Beard Snoods, the largest being 21".  

 

What can I say? Your Welcome.

[whiteknightzk]

It's probably not going to be "kosher" to insist that the Rabbi inspecting your facility either trim his beard or bring his own beard snood (How would you maintain control on the hygiene of the snood?).  

 

The answer is always out there, or else you've found a vertical integration opportunity and should capitalize on it.  I couldn't find oversized beard nets, either, so I started looking for a beard net manufacturer to co-pack some for me to start selling online.  Then, I came across a supplier with low enough pricing that I just wouldn't be able to compete with:

 

I found some oversized beard snoods manufactured by Keystone and DuPont, both distributed by Grainger Industrial Supply.  They carry 4 sizes of Beard Snoods, the largest being 21".  

 

What can I say? Your Welcome.

Sorry, it's Global industrial, not Grainger.

[FurFarmandFork]

Another option for truly long hair or beards is to have them tucked into clothing, and cover the exposed bits with beard nets. Both 3 ft ponytails/braids and zz-top beards will do this just fine. I go with the same justification that the hair is "restrained" by the clothing in the same way that my chest hair is restrained by my shirt, and the exposed bit is mostly covered by the net.

 

I follow the same policy for jewelry, if I can't see it, it is effectively restrained by your clothing. I'm not going to enforce a jewelry policy for items hidden by clothing.

 

I do have one bearded employee who maintains his own "beekeeper" hat and uses it as a hair restraint. Another option for the excessively hairy.

 

 

 

How would you maintain control on the hygiene of the snood?)

 

Again, the same way you maintain hygiene for personal or company clothing. Examine, etc. BTW, is there a reason the rabbi is touching things with his beard net while in your plant that it needs to be sterile? The goal is hair restraint, not face sterilization.