The government has been called to review the law and clarify employers’ obligations
The high profile ‘high heels’ case, where Nicola Thorp was put on authorised leave without pay and sent home after refusing to wear high heels in the office, resulted in a petition calling for a review on the law around dress codes.
The legal juxtaposition
To implement a dress code is lawful so long as the content is reasonable and provides equivalent requirements for both sexes. The issue here being, women and men have different kinds of clothes and shoes how is equivalence defined when an employer intends for both sexes to look smart?
Direct and indirect discrimination
A policy that treats women less favourably than men (or vice versa) would constitute direct sex discrimination, for which there is no defence (such as the high heels case).
Another concern is indirect discrimination whereby, a criterion within the dress code, which applies to everyone, has a worse effect on some people than others and puts them at a particular disadvantage.
Business purpose for dress codes
Legitimate business intent and reasoning for the content of their policies and procedures is paramount if a business is required to justify its interest in implementing them. The ‘High Heels’ case, under no circumstance, could be justifiable as it falls firmly under direct sex discrimination. Unless, of course, all the men in the office were required to wear Jimmy Choo, but still, that’s a guaranteed health and staff risk.
Employers should always thoroughly consider if their dress code is justifiable. Legitimate business aims could be:
- Health and safety reasons
- To ensure a consistent and fair approach to staff appearance and how it is managed
- To enhance and establish a unified public image
- To represent and embody the core values of the business
- To restrict inappropriate dress or insignia that may cause offence
Next steps
Uniform and dress code policies are standard practice in a number of industries, such as Travel, Hospitality and Retail. Before implementing a uniform, dress and appearance policy you should conduct a review to ensure you aren’t discriminating and that health and safety factors have been considered.