Does the definition of ‘smart business wear’ apply to you? And what does smart business wear for women mean?
Telling employees what not to wear was famously documented by the case of secretary Nicola Thorp, who was sent home by her employee PwC for not wearing high heels. This prompted the House of Commons to produce the report entitled High heels and workplace dress codes, after the government received a petition signed by more than 150,000 people calling for it to be illegal for a company to require its female staff to wear high heels at work.
Some dress codes makes sense when enforced to ensure the safety of workers such as wearing hardhats or boots or to maintaining hygiene standards by taking measures to keep hair well away from food. The definition of dress codes is not clearly defined. Smart casual dress by definition in Vogue was described as a no rules for women category, that required a “degree of polish, such as a blazer or jewellery, flats or heels”.
In a recently survey commissioned by Style Compare it was found that simply being told what to wear is an issue with more than one in ten (12%) of the UK’s workforce. Some of the respondents had stated that they had considered leaving a job because of the strict dress code, with a third of the men being more likely than women to consider quitting over what they were told to wear.
Table showing the work dress codes at work for men and women described by respondents from the survey conducted by OnePoll
| Dress code | Description | Women | Men |
| Business | Strict business dress code: Dark suits, ties for men. Smart business wear for women. Grooming guidance given as part of dress code. | 7.04% | 10.16% |
| Relaxed business | Smart dress code, but flexible. Suits and ties recommended, but not mandatory. No jeans. | 32.84% | 29.04% |
| Smart casual | Smart casual dress code: Smart jeans permitted, casual shoes, knitwear permitted. | 19.79% | 18.45% |
| Casual | Casual dress code: No items of clothing specified, but ripped jeans, trainers, sportswear not permitted. | 13.20% | 13.02% |
| No dress code | Anything goes. Employees explicitly told they can wear what they want. | 15.10% | 17.45% |
| Undefined | No guidance on what to wear at all. | 12.02% | 11.87% |
The data revealed that call centre staff, a sector not known for its face to face interactions with customers, had the highest number of people (32%) stating that they had considered quitting because of their employers rules on clothing.
Should Human Resources teams have clearly defined dress code as part of the staff retention strategy? The advice from The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) the Crown’s non-departmental public body of the UK Government sees dress code as a way to keep the staff engaged and avoid litigation.
Acas advise that consulting with employees over any proposed dress code will help to ensure that the code is acceptable to both the organisation and employees. Which makes sense when religious and cultural attire for women at work has to be considered and along with the non-existence guidelines about what “smart business wear” actually means?
