Written evidence submitted by Acas (WDC0008)

 

Provided by Stewart Gee (Acas Head of Information and Guidance) and John Palmer (Acas Senior Guidance Editor)

 

Executive Summary:

 

Introduction:

 

  1. Acas (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) provides free and impartial information and advice to employers and employees on all aspects of workplace relations and employment law. We support good relationships between employers and employees which underpin business success. But when things go wrong we help to resolve workplace problems. We also provide good value, high quality training and tailored advice to employers. Our expertise is based on millions of contacts with employers and employees each year and we are governed by an independent Council, including representatives of employer and employee organisations and employment experts

 

  1. Acas has published very brief online guidance on considerations for employers around dress codes and submits evidence to this committee to explain why our current dress code guidance has been developed and to set out thinking for possible further activity in this area.

 

Submission:

  1. The current Acas guidance on dress codes (annex 1 - www.acas.org.uk/dresscode) provides a general overview of the law and good working practice in the area. The main driver for the development of the guidance was around customers’ need to make sense of developments in relation to Health and Safety and religious dress requirements. The latter area in particular was identified by Acas operational staff as an area where guidance would be useful.  For example, customers had raised questions around the wearing of a crucifix or a Hijab and these issues have been subject to a number of case law decisions that most employers with a dress code requirement must take into account.

 

  1. Rather than stating that employers should introduce a dress code, Acas encourages employers who are intending on doing so to consider whether this is genuinely needed.  Acas emphasises that employers should only specify a dress code where they believe the business needs one, or will benefit from one. Likewise, outside of legal requirements (which includes Sex Discrimination provisions) or widely-acknowledged good practice, we do not seek to recommend particular positions on the specific requirements of dress codes.

 

  1. As indicated in the Acas guidance, there are some Health and Safety considerations in relation to footwear, and there is a general legal requirement under the Equality Act 2010 for employers to ensure that “dress codes must apply to both men and women equally, although they may have different requirements”. In the absence of legislation or case law in the area it is not possible to provide definitive legal guidance here, although further discussion of an individual situation is available to customers using the Acas Helpline service.

 

  1. That being said, Acas guidance has scope to include recommendations for good practice in the workplace. Therefore, should the wider debate (including the conclusion of this committee) in the area of dress code requirements around high heels, and indeed other aspects of gender-aligned dress and appearance, lead to a position where further guidance is required, then Acas would consider customer need and discuss options for developing such guidance with stakeholders, including, if desired, the Women and Equalities Committee.

 

  1. Together with the research Acas is undertaking, the work of this committee will assist Acas in making a fully informed decision about the development of new guidance and/or training in this area.  If the evidence demonstrates that new guidance is required this can be developed speedily, and Acas has a good reputation for leading on such developments.

 

 


Annex 1 – Acas guide on Dress code - www.acas.org.uk/dresscode

 

Dress code

Dress codes are often used in the workplace and there are many reasons why an employer may have one, for example workers may be asked to wear a uniform to communicate a corporate image and ensure that customers can easily identify them. Often an employer will introduce a dress code for health and safety reasons, for example health care workers may not be allowed to wear jewellery for safety reasons when around patients and certain clothing may not be allowed in factories while operating machinery.

Key points

A dress code can often be used by employers to ensure workers are safe and dressed appropriately. It should, however, relate to the job and be reasonable in nature, for example workers may be required to tie their hair back or cover it for hygiene reasons if working in a kitchen.

Employers may have a policy that sets out a reasonable standard of dress and appearance for their organisation. Any dress code should be non-discriminatory and should apply to both men and women equally, but standards can be different for example a policy may state "business dress" for women but may state for men "must wear a tie".

Employers may adopt a more casual approach to dress during the summer, but this may depend on the type of business. Some employers may require staff to wear business dress all year because of the nature of the work, for example sales representatives who meet with clients will need to maintain a certain standard. Employers may have a "no flip flop" policy as a health and safety precaution, but any restrictions should be clearly set out in the organisation's policy.

It is good practice when drafting or updating a dress code for an employer 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. When setting out a policy employers should take into account employees who may dress in a certain way for religious reasons. However, workers can be required not to wear certain items that could be deemed a safety risk, for example loose clothing may be a hazard if operating machinery.

If employees do not comply with the standards it may result in a disciplinary hearing.

Exceptions to the rule

There may be times when employees wish to support different charities, and they would like to ask for exceptions to the normal dress code rules, for example jeans for jeans day, Christmas jumper day etc. and on these occasions people should ask their line manager if it would be ok to take part.

Tattoos and body piercings

Employers may wish to promote a certain image through their workers which they believe reflects the ethos of their organisations. Sometimes this can mean that they ask workers to remove piercings or cover tattoos while at work. Employers may believe they have a reasonable business reason for this especially when employees are dealing with customers. However, employers should carefully consider the reason behind the rule as they should have sound business reasons for requiring these dress codes. If an employer does decide to adopt a dress code or appearance code it should be written down in a policy which should be communicated to all staff so they understand what standards are expected from them.

Religious Dress

Some employers may wish to cover issues around religious dress within their policies, however, employers are advised to tread cautiously in this area as they should allow groups or individual employees to wear articles of clothing etc. that manifest their religious faith. Employers will need to justify the reasons for banning such items and should ensure they are not indirectly discriminating against these employees. Any restriction should be connected to a real business or safety requirement. Some recent legal decisions in this area suggest that people should be allowed to demonstrate their religious faith through their dress, for instance by wearing an unobtrusive cross symbol to denote Christianity or wearing a Yarmulke or Kippah (skull cap) as part of the Jewish faith. However, there have been other rulings based on different circumstances that may appear to conflict with this position.

In many cases the display of religious faith may be subtle and fit well with business or corporate dress. Employers are therefore advised 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 this image, or health and safety requirements, rather than provide a very strict and limiting dress code.

Further information

Related Pages

Other Sites