A House of Commons Joint Committee report examining workplace dress codes has been published. The report was prompted by the experience of Nicola Thorp, who was sent home for refusing to wear high heels (see our previous blog on this here).
The Joint Committee heard stories from women who claimed to have suffered victimisation as a result of being asked to:
- wear short(er) skirts;
- unbutton blouses;
- wear nail varnish from a specified colour palette;
- have no visible roots if hair was dyed;
- dye hair blonde;
- re-apply make-up.
The Committee also heard expert evidence from the College of Podiatry that the requirement to wear high heels for long periods of time was damaging to a woman’s health.
The Committee concluded that Nicola Thorp’s treatment was unlawful and that discriminatory dress codes remain commonplace in certain sectors. It recommended that the government produced guidance and campaigns to raise awareness of these issues.
It also recognised that the need to prove ‘less favourable’ treatment in discrimination claims and the employer’s ability to justify treatment which is in pursuit of a ‘legitimate aim’ can present barriers to claims and recommended that the Government consider how many claims fail at these two hurdles and whether amendments should be made to the law in this regard. It further suggested increasing the penalties available to employment tribunals in discrimination claims to act as a further deterrent.