Employment Matters June 2007

Sunny Season - What not to wear and how hot is too hot?

What not to wear
With summer fast approaching the debate begins (again!) as to what is appropriate office attire. As temperatures increase employees understandably want to alter their work wear to cooler more practical items. However, this should not be at the expense of professionalism.

Dress codes
Dress codes are often contained in employee handbooks or in contracts of employment. If you don’t already have a code it is worth implementing one. Now is the ideal time to remind employees of what is suitable office wear.

Dress codes can be implemented for all your employees. It is entirely feasible to implement different codes of dress for different roles within the organisation, ranging from client facing positions to warehouse workers.

The advantages of having a dress code are obvious and include:

• Professionalism within the workplace.
• Corporate image/branding.
• Creating a work atmosphere.

Legislation to be aware of when drafting a dress code includes the following:

• Sex Discrimination Act 1975
• Race Relations Act 1976
• Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003
• Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003
• Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006
• Disability Discrimination Act 1995.