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Does anyone know what the practical definition of “cultural exemption” is?

My employer has decided to begin requiring that male staff be clean shaven unless they have a medical, religious or cultural exemption. This change is not presented as a hygiene requirement, and certainly isn't standard in the industry. This is just a preference that some higher-up has made. I imagine it's just corporate speak for “non-religious things that foreigners do” as a means of not wanting to appear racist by telling ethnic minority to do something – but what does it *actually* mean in practical/enforceable purposes? My culture, according to census data, sees about 42% of the male population engaging in some amount of facial hair and we have the legal right to autonomy over our own bodies – is that enough of a cultural justification to tell my employer to do one and provide me with an exemption-beard-net?


My employer has decided to begin requiring that male staff be clean shaven unless they have a medical, religious or cultural exemption. This change is not presented as a hygiene requirement, and certainly isn't standard in the industry. This is just a preference that some higher-up has made.

I imagine it's just corporate speak for “non-religious things that foreigners do” as a means of not wanting to appear racist by telling ethnic minority to do something – but what does it *actually* mean in practical/enforceable purposes? My culture, according to census data, sees about 42% of the male population engaging in some amount of facial hair and we have the legal right to autonomy over our own bodies – is that enough of a cultural justification to tell my employer to do one and provide me with an exemption-beard-net?

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