Not what to wear? Employers’ liability for dress codes?
| Published date | 01 March 2018 |
| DOI | 10.1177/1358229118757867 |
| Author | Sam Middlemiss |
| Date | 01 March 2018 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Article
Not what to wear?
Employers’ liability
for dress codes?
Sam Middlemiss
Abstract
This article argues that in the United Kingdom currently there is a lack of an effective
legal basis for challenging the imposition by employers of unfair or discriminatory dress
codes in the workplace on employees or workers. Given the breadth of this topic, it will
not be possible to also consider appearance or grooming standards such as outlawing
beards or banning piercings or tattoos. Also consideration will be restricted to the
aspects of discrimination which are contentious or most affected by dress codes or have
not been dealt with in detail elsewhere namely sex and transgender discrimination. It is
sadly the case that there is often uncertainty on the part of both employers and
employees about when dress codes are acceptable or not and this should be addressed.
There have been a number of research studies and legal cases highlighted recently which
make this article timely. The cases tend to support the employers managerial prerogative
to impose dress restrictions. Of recent interest is an incident where a woman was sent
home from work on her first day for not wearing high heels which caused a public outcry,
of which, more later. Clearly dress codes are often contentious and can lead to the
discontent of employees and workers. In the absence of adequate legal protection in the
United Kingdom, this article will examine what steps should be taken by management
and legislators to deal with the problem of dress codes.
Keywords
Employers, dress, requirements, legal, remedies
Law School, Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, UK
Corresponding author:
Sam Middlemiss, Law School, Robert Gordon University, Garthdee Road, Aberdeen AB11 7QE,
UK.
Email: s.middlemiss@rgu.ac.uk
International Journalof
Discrimination and theLaw
2018, Vol. 18(1) 40–51
ªThe Author(s) 2018
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DOI: 10.1177/1358229118757867
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