ACAS has issued new guidance on dress codes and appearance in the workplace.
It sets out the issues for employers to consider, rather than providing answers. Two areas it focuses on are tattoos/body piercings and religious dress.
Issues
There many reasons why an employer may have a dress code, e.g. workers may be asked to wear a uniform to communicate a corporate image and ensure that customers can easily identify them. A dress code can also be used to ensure workers are safe and dressed appropriately. Visual uniformity in the workplace can help subtly promote the impression of “being a team” amongst the workforce.
According to a 2011 XpertHR benchmarking research on dress codes, nearly three-quarters of organisations have a dress code in operation. The primary reason for having a dress code is to maintain the organisation’s external image. Nine-tenths are willing to relax their dress code under certain circumstances. Charity days are the most widespread reason for relaxing dress codes, followed by hot weather.
Key Concerns
- Employers must avoid unlawful discrimination in any dress code policy.
- Dress codes must apply to both men and women equally, although they may have different requirements, e.g. a policy may state “business dress” for women but may state that men “must wear a tie”.
- Reasonable adjustments should also be made for disabled people when dress codes are in place.
Employers can legitimately tell their employees to dress in a certain way at work; indeed, there is nothing to prevent an employer from including an express term in the Contract of Employment, outlining the dress code that employees must observe. Even if there is no explicit contractual reference to clothing, employees are still under an implied duty to obey reasonable instructions regarding standards, including clothing and appearance.
Employers’ responses to requests on dress should follow a consistent and sensible policy. Allowing one employee to wear a turban, but forbidding another to wear a crucifix could be viewed as discriminatory. Acting reasonably and consistently is the best way to avoid disputes, and be seen as being fair. Restrictions should relate to the job and be reasonable in nature, e.g. workers may be required to tie their hair back, or cover it, for hygiene reasons if working in a kitchen. There may also be a safety risk, for example loose clothing may be a hazard when operating machinery.
It is good practice when drafting or updating a dress code, to consider the reasoning behind it. Consulting with employees over any proposed dress code may ensure that the code is acceptable to both the organisation and employees. Once agreed, it should be communicated to all employees.
Tattoos and Body Piercings
ACAS point out that employers may wish to promote a certain image through their workers which they believe reflects their ‘ethos’. This can mean asking workers to remove piercings or cover tattoos while at work, particularly when they are dealing with customers.
Religious Dress
ACAS also recommend allowing groups, or individual employees, to wear articles of clothing etc. that manifest their religious faith. Any restriction should be connected to a real business or safety requirement. They recognise that there are conflicting legal decisions in this area. They advise employers to think about the image they want to convey, and about how they can work with employees to allow them to manifest their faith, in a way that does not conflict with their requirements, rather than provide a strict and limiting code.
Implementation
Introducing a workplace dress code may initially cause ripples of dissatisfaction in employees because it is a change, but a dress code may assist employees because it sets out expectations about their dress and grooming. Thus, they don’t have to worry about whether they are dressed too casually or too formally – all they have to do is follow the dress code.
A proper sense of proportion is required, as standards which could be insisted upon in a professional client-facing role are harder to enforce in a back-office administrative department. Those standards must reflect current business norms, not those that were prevalent when you first started work!
We advise employers to avoid applying a requirement of, say, “conventional business dress” and then being drawn into describing in detail what that means for each gender. “Conventional business dress” means different things for both genders. Try to stick to general prohibitions – no inappropriate footwear, no beachwear, no sportswear, nothing too tight/loose, no offensive logos, nothing that might be expected to attract adverse comment from customers/visitors etc.
Actions
- To avoid claims of indirect discrimination, you should be able to objectively justify dress standards, e.g. when religious dress requirements conflict with safety or hygiene rules.
- There should be a good reason for imposing a dress code, and you should be consistent in your approach (subject to the above discrimination concern).
- If you provide clothing, make it clear who is responsible for its cleaning.
- Communicate your rules so they understand your standards, and make it clear that failure to comply will be a disciplinary matter.
- Do not make it contractual, but do have a rule which you can easily change.
- You should be seen to listen to your staff on this, and it will help “sell” the restrictions if you can point to a complaint, or some objective concern, other than your own personal likes/dislikes.
Our Consultants would be pleased to advise you on any element of the issues arising from this newsletter.
