Tattoos still taboo for employers: Those considering body art should 'think twice if they are looking for a job' Managers 'view tattoos as taboo and worry about hiring someone with them' Study said they think customers associate them with 'thugs and druggies' Bosses at hotels, banks, councils, prisons, universities and shops quizzed Managers in many industries still view tattoos as taboo and would worry about hiring someone who had the designs on show People who are looking for work should think twice about getting tattoos because many people assume those who have them are 'thugs and druggies', a study has claimed. Managers in many industries still view tattoos as taboo and would worry about hiring someone who had the designs on show because of what customers might think, it said. University of St Andrews researchers found stigma still surrounds tattoos despite their increasing popularity among celebrities and wider sections of society. Management expert Dr Andrew Timming, who led the research, explained that while he personally liked tattoos, many of the professionals he interviewed who are responsible for hiring new staff thought otherwise. He said: 'Most respondents agreed that visible tattoos are a stigma. Hiring managers realise that, ultimately, it does not matter what they think of tattoos - what really matters, instead, is how customers might perceive employees with visible tattoos. It comes as the BBC reports that the Metropolitan Police has banned staff from getting visible tattoos. Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe said the body art 'damages the professional image' of police. Employees have also been told they must inform line managers of their tatoos, or risk disciplinary action. Dr Timming interviewed recruiters in 14 organisations including a hotel, bank, city council, prison, university and bookseller to get a broad view of their opinions on tattoos. A male manager said seeing a tattoo would 'subconsciously stop' him hiring the applicant, while another said 'tattoos are the first thing they [fellow recruiters] talk about when the person has gone out of the door.' One woman manager simply said 'they make a person look dirty', the British Sociological Association conference on work, employment and society in Warwick was told. Dr Timming explained: 'Respondents expressed concern that visibly tattooed workers may be perceived by customers to be abhorrent, repugnant, unsavoury and untidy. It was surmised that customers might project a negative service experience based on stereotypes that tattooed people are thugs and druggies. However, not all the managers were completely against potential employees having tattoos, although of the ones who didn't mind their line of work was not 'public facing'. Dr Timming said: 'The one qualification to this argument is there are certain industries in which tattoos may be a desirable characteristic in a job interview. For example, an HR manager at a prison noted that tattoos on guards can be "something to talk about" and "an in" that you need to make a connection with the prisoners. The rising popularity of tattoos among public figures recently made the news as pop star Cheryl Cole revealed she had gone under the needle to get an image of a rose that covered her entire lower back and bottom Around one in five of the British population has a tattoo of some kind, and Dr Timming pointed out that it's inevitable that managers will get applicants who will have tattoos. The location of the tattoo and their subject matter are both key to employers who, while they may be ready to tackle on a member of tattooed member of staff, some tattoos would be unacceptable. The rising popularity of tattoos among public figures recently made the news as pop star Cheryl Cole revealed she had gone under the needle to get an image of a rose that covered her entire lower back and bottom. But Cole, like ex-England captain David Beckham, is in a line of work that allows both to use their heavily tattooed bodies to an advantage, rather than suffer the consequences of them turning future employers off. Dr Timming explained: 'If you look at David Beckham and his recent advertising campaigns for H&M for example, they are an asset for him, they decorate his body and have become part of his image.' But Cole, like ex-England captain David Beckham, is in a line of work that allows both to use their heavily tattooed bodies to an advantage However, the prevalence of tattoos among celebrities has been followed with a widening acceptance among members of the public, which is a sign that one day visible tattoos will be a minor concern for jobseekers. He said: 'Intolerance to tattoos is currently strongest amongst the older generations. That, coupled with the increasing prevalence of tattoos in younger people, points to a future in which body art will become largely normalised and accepted. Tattooed applicants can take comfort in the fact that the stigma associated with body art appears to be on the wane and that, as a corollary, there will likely be an increase in the number of potentially sympathetic tattooed hiring managers.