Male nude handyman job advertisement on student website will be removed

A job ad for a "male nude handyman" will be removed from a New Zealand student job website. The role, advertised on Student Job Search's website, asked for one male student to do odd jobs around the home of a naturist employer in Auckland city. "You will be required to do general cleaning duties, some sanding and putting cabinets together. You must be hard working, self motivated and most importantly the confidence to work naked," the ad reads.

Student Job Search spokeswoman Lorna McConnon said the ad had been deleted after a review this morning, but the link to it still works. It breached the site's policy of only listing jobs that were safe for students and offered "no surprises", she said. "This vacancy doesn't meet any of those requirements."



Bridget Smith, senior associate of Minter Ellison Rudd Watts Lawyers, said discriminating against potential employees on the grounds of sex and age are both prohibited under the Human Rights Act. However, Section 27 of the Act provides an exception for employment in a private household, she said. As for working in the nude, there is nothing in the Act that prohibits working naked.

"There's nothing inherently wrong with employing someone to do a job that requires you to work with no clothes on, Ms Smith says. "It's up to the individual if you want to perform the role in the nude. The other thing is the health and safety risk of being a handyman in the nude. You might want protective clothing."