Aussie teen claims his ‘punk’ appearance has left him unable to get a job

A Queensland man says his multiple face piercings, tattoos and mohawk are stopping him getting a job despite multiple applications.

A Queensland teenager has revealed his struggle to land a job because of his “punk” appearance, claiming he has been discriminated against for how he looks.

Novak Daniels said he has been continually knocked back for jobs over the past few months, despite applying for multiple positions across the Sunshine Coast.

The 18-year-old told the Sunshine Coast Daily that he thinks the “old fashioned” mindset about appearance and clothing is the reason behind his job applications being rejected.

Novak describes his style as “punk” and sports multiple face piercings, tattoos and a large mohawk.

The teen has a growing social media presence on TikTok, with more than 55,800 followers.

The videos he uploads highlight his punk style, with the Sunshine Coast local often wearing dark eye makeup and black clothes.

In many of his videos, he can be seen smoking, drinking and swearing.

One of Novak’s recent videos was uploaded with the caption, “I have to start working because I can’t support myself doing nothing but I don’t want to.”

In one video the teen claimed he doesn’t ‘want to’ start working. Picture: nxvac/TikTok

The teen told the Sunshine Coast Daily that his recent job applications to work in cafes, mow lawns and start trade apprenticeships as a boiler maker and welder were all rejected.

Novak claims he has a great work ethic and believes these rejections are purely because of his style.

“I think these people are very old-fashioned and think I’m a troublesome teenager,” he said.

“I dress the way I dress to express myself. I don’t want to fit with the system because it’s broken.

“I’m being myself, and if people are choosing to discriminate against me and tell me to pull my piercings out, then they can.”

Many Australians have lost their jobs as a result of the COVID-19 crisis, with pictures showing lines spilling onto the street outside Centrelink offices as residents rushed to apply for unemployment payments.

The government introduced the JobKeeper and JobSeeker payments in a bid to help Australians who had suddenly found themselves unemployed as a result of the pandemic.

But now these payments have been slashed.

From September 25, the JobSeeker maximum fortnightly rate for a single household will drop from $1110 to $810, while JobKeeper will be reduced to at most $600 a week from September 28.

It was also revealed yesterday that thousands of people could be forced to wait months before even being able to claim JobSeeker payments.

Tough new rules for when you can claim the payments came into force yesterday, with an estimated 400,000 who lose their jobs in the coming months possibly forced to wait up to 12 weeks to receive unemployment benefits.