Work Uniforms: Employer's Guide

You may need to do it for the safety of your staff, or to uphold a professional company profile. Other uniforms are simply appropriate for certain work environments.

But despite these use cases, you may find employees refusing to wear their uniform or causing other issues. For this reason, we’ll take a look at some of the most common problems you might face when it comes to staff dress codes.

But first, let’s determine what you can legally expect from your employees. For more guidance, speak to one of our experts on 0808 501 6651

What are dress regulations?

In simple terms, a dress code is a company policy that states what attire employees should wear while working.

You can implement a dress code for health & safety reasons. Examples include:

• Tying back hair.
• Wearing a hairnet in the kitchen.
• Not wearing jewellery around medical patients.
• Wearing protective clothing around hazardous substances.

You can also implement rules simply to communicate a corporate image. Or to make sure clients can easily identify staff by their workplace uniform.

Are there work uniform laws?

There’s no law that requires you to have a dress code at work. But there are laws that dictate what you can and can’t include in your uniform policy.

Your dress code must not discriminate based on the nine protected characteristics outlined in the Equality Act 2010.

In the same vein, your dress code must apply to men and women equally, even if they have different requirements. Finally, make reasonable adjustments in your dress code for staff members with a disability.

Your legal obligations

There’s no legal obligation for you to pay for your employees’ uniforms, with the exception of PPE.

You don’t have permission to charge any employee for PPE. And when their employment terminates, they should return the clothes.

If they keep any PPE without your consent you can deduct the costs of a replacement from wages owed if this is explicitly stated in the contract of employment.

But if you intend to make employees’ pay for their uniform, you must include a provision that says this in their contract.

It’s usually worth providing a couple of sets of the uniform for free, and ask staff to pay for any additional sets. But you can also set an allowance for members of staff so they can pay for their uniform.

By asking employees to pay, the uniform then becomes their property—this means they get to take it home with them, if they want.

So you should be careful when asking employees to pay (or, crucially, making deductions from pay) for their uniforms. It’s especially important if you’re paying the individual minimum wage.

Why? If the cost of the uniform causes their pay to dip below the National Minimum Wage, you’ll be breaking the law. This was the case for many businesses who were ‘named and shamed’ in 2018.

Workplace Dress Codes

Having a policy on how your employees dress isn’t necessarily unlawful. However, certain requirements could qualify as discriminatory and potentially contribute to dated gender stereotypes. Here’s what you need to keep in mind:

Gender discrimination

The Equality Act 2010 makes it unlawful for employers to discriminate against staff due to gender.

Despite this, gender discrimination still occurs in the workplace. Research by Slater & Gordon has indicated that one in ten women have been told to wear ‘more revealing’ tops to work. Some participants admitted that they have been actively encouraged to dress more provocatively in the workplace.

This highlights that gender stereotyping in the workplace remains very much an issue in the modern working environment. It’s up to employers to work against it.

The law

Government guidance around dress codes and sex discrimination confirms that dress code requirements for men and women may differ. However, the standards imposed must be ‘equivalent’. Any less favourable treatment ‘could’ qualify as discrimination.

This means you cannot treat individuals any less favourably or place them at a disadvantage due to their gender. You must take this into consideration when constructing a dress code.

For example, you might require women to wear skirts, make-up, or jewellery. But, with no equivalent requirement for men, it’s unlikely to stand up to a legal challenge in most circumstances. It will likely be seen as crossing the line.

The correct approach

The downfall for many employers on this subject is usually the same. They believe that other companies have similar dress code requirements (like above) so it must be fine to have them too.

To ensure you don’t fall down at the same hurdle, be ready to cast a critical eye over your dress code. Learn to determine whether it may be discriminatory and if the code is truly needed to achieve a legitimate aim.

To give another example, formal settings often want their staff to dress smartly. This is a reasonable aim. And, it can be achieved without requiring female employees to wear high heeled shoes.

This argument was used by Nicola Thorp, an agency worker set to work at PWC. She was sent home from work in 2016 after refusing to wear high heels in line with the company’s dress code. Her  legal challenge against this practice was what led to the Government's 2018 guidance mentioned above.

Dress codes may not always appear discriminatory on the surface. But you should always be prepared to dig deeper into the various requirements. Consider how the effect of them may ultimately lead to less favourable treatment for women.

Employees claiming tax relief

You may find some of your employees asking if there’s an HMRC clothing allowance that applies to work uniforms. You can tell them they can claim tax relief on the cost of cleaning, repairing, or replacing specialist clothing needed to perform their job role. But not on the initial cost of buying it.

For more information on this, you can direct them to the following government portal: claim tax relief for your job expenses.

Dealing with staff complaints

Occasionally, you may find some of your employees have an issue with your dress codes. Here are some of the most common questions you can expect:

• “Can I refuse to wear my work uniform?”: If the policy is set out clearly in their employment contract and doesn’t discriminate against them on any protected characteristic (and they have no medical grounds for refusing to wear it) then they can’t.
• “My uniform is expensive to maintain, how can I afford it?”: You can offer them an allowance (or at least one free set to get them started). You should also provide them with the most practical solution—not a cheap, corner-cutting uniform.

It’s also in your interest to help the staff member with the maintenance of equipment and work wear.

But if they’re really struggling, you can claim tax relief on repairing and replacing work uniforms.

Need our fashion advice?

If you’re struggling with a uniform, or work clothing issue in your business, we’ll make sure all of your employees are satisfied with your dress code. Get in touch today: 0808 501 6651

Need answers in a pinch? Ask your questions to Croner BrAInbox and get high quality answers curated for you by our employment law experts.