A 'sexist' chip shop boss rejected a male job seeker because they are only looking for female staff as 'women are better and work harder'.

Unemployed Jorge Gorman, who was born a woman and transitioned, had applied for an order taker role at The Anchor Fish and Chips in Nottingham last week when he received the 'shocking' reply refusing to give him a chance.

The 33-year-old, who has more than 15 years' experience in the food and drinks sector, was told he would not be considered because 'women are better' for the job.

Unemployed Jorge Gorman had applied for an order taker role at The Anchor Fish and Chips in Nottingham last week when he received the 'shocking' reply refusing to give him a chance

Jorge has been looking for jobs for three months to move closer to his partner, Emma, 26, and has admitted he'd 'clean toilets if he had to'.

The acting manager of Anchor Fish and Chips defended his comments, claiming that it was not discrimination but only his opinion that women were better at this particular role than men.

However the owner of the chippy has since said that the acting manager was wrong and that they would hire a man or woman for the role Jorge applied for.

Jorge, from Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, said: 'It's shocking that it happened - they put it in writing too.

'I've been discriminated against because of my gender. They've just said no.. It's sexism pure and simple.

'It's absolutely ridiculous to say women are more hardworking or polite. I was born female anyway.

'It's shocking. [Being able to do the job] is nothing to do with being male or female. They're sticking by their comments too. They've put it on their own Facebook page.

The acting manager of Anchor Fish and Chips defended his comments, claiming that it was not discrimination but only his opinion that women were better at this particular role than men

'They said 'in my opinion women are better on phone by taking takeaway orders of customers. They're patient, they are hard working.'

Jorge had hoped to find work closer to his girlfriend, who lives an hour and a half away in Nottingham.

After being refused by the chip shop, furious supporters have urged him to report the business for gender discrimination.

Jorge said: 'I'm trying to move to Nottingham at the moment to be with my partner.

'I applied to the job via Facebook. You send across a covering letter and CV and that's the only answer I received.

'My confidence hasn't been knocked because I've had some nice comments, but I've been looking for work now for the last few months. I'd clean toilets if I had to - I'm one of those people.

Sex discrimination in employment and training It is illegal for an employer to discriminate against you because of your sex. This includes all employers, no matter how few people they employ. Most workers, including employees, agency workers, trainees and those who are self-employed have protection from sex discrimination at work. This includes: recruitment and selection

promotion

training, pay and benefits

redundancy and dismissal

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'I've never worked in a chippy before, but I've worked in pubs and retail all my working life.

'People are telling me to report them and I think I probably should, for other people too.

'They need to know what they've done is wrong. They can't know it's wrong because you wouldn't put it in writing, surely?'

A man who identified himself as the acting manager of Anchor Fish and Chips, in Nottingham, admitted that it was he who wrote that they wanted to hire a woman.

The manager said: 'Nothing was about discrimination - it was just a misunderstanding.

'I wrote this. Basically, we have had a few guys working here answering the phone but they weren't doing the job properly.

'We have a girl who has been working with us for more than a year. So I thought it was right to have a female answer the phone talking to people.

'I did not know it was illegal. I did not mean to discriminate against people.

'I couldn't post the advert just for a female. In my opinion, females do this job [order taking] better than male staff. I just said 'in my opinion'. I didn't say it was a fact.'

After Jorge shared his complaint online, the following response was posted on the chippy's Facebook account: 'In my opinion, women are better for this job.

'We do have men and women drive[r]s, which is absolutely fine. I believe women are better and [more] patient for taking takeaway orders.

'If you run a business you need to have [the] right people in [the] right shifts and positions. I hope it's clear enough why.

'By the way, we are still looking for someone. Please, if anyone [is] interested [you are still] welcome to apply.'

The post has since been removed and the owner has said that they would hire a male or female member of staff for the role.

The owner of The Anchor Fish and Chips said: 'We don't only hire female staff - we've got lots of male staff. I'll definitely do something about this. That's not the case. It's not my opinion.

'I'll change my password [to our social media page]. He is not supposed to post stuff like that. I would be happy to hire a male or female member of staff for this job.'