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Relaxing Dress Codes – Make Sure You Avoid Discrimination
 The summer heat wave is still in full swing,
and while many good employers let their
employees dress down slightly to stay cool;
you need to be careful of unintentional sex
discrimination.
Employment law firm Croner has found that
55% of employees believe that women can get
away with more casual clothing than men;
helping them to stay cooler in the hot
weather. The problem continues all year
round however, with 41% of employees
agreeing that women stray most from dress
codes all year round.
With such a high number of employees
believing that there is a difference in the
way men and women are allowed to dress, you
need to be prepared for complaints and even
claims of sexual discrimination; especially
if the combined heat and dress code (E.g.:
Being forced to wear shirt, tie and suit in
all weathers) could cause health and safety
concerns.
Richard Smith, employment services director
at Croner says: “While it can seem
relatively harmless to some people, an
unequal dress code policy can have serious
implications on business, affecting employee
morale, increasing tension and potentially
leading to complaints of discrimination. If
employers are going to allow women to wear
summer spaghetti-strap tops and flip flops,
they must make equal allowances for men to
relax the rules.
“What this means in practice is that
employers must have a clear dress code
policy that is enforced equally for both men
and women. If dress code rules are relaxed
in the summer, employers should state what
is acceptable attire taking care to ensure
equal provisions for men and women. They
should also make it clear that failure to
adhere to the code could lead to
disciplinary action.”
Croner is providing six ground rules for
employers to follow to avoid sartorial
discrimination:
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Employers can prescribe a dress code
that is appropriate for the work
involved, e.g. for safety and hygiene
reasons
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Employers can require staff who come
into contact with the public or other
organisations to conform to a dress code
which will enhance the public image of
the employer and facilitate its business
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Employers must act reasonably, balance
the needs of the business with the
rights of employees, and get the
principles of the code right so that it
genuinely reflects a business need, and
is neither arbitrary nor discriminatory
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The dress code needs to be spelt out in
a clear policy which is transparent and
understood by all
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The code must be enforced in a
consistent and proportionate way.
If you need to maintain a stricter dress
code for some employees, then you can
demonstrate fairness by providing them with
extra cooling to compensate.
Further articles on employment issues are
available in our You and Work portal.
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