Dress up or risk a dressing-down

By ESTELLE SARNEY

The bosses of courier company Skyroad Express thought the attire of some of their sales team was getting altogether too risque, or downright scruffy.

Tops were too transparent, necklines too low, skirts too high. The men's shirts were unironed, and workers of both genders had earlobes full of metal.

Regional sales manager Sarah Selkirk says when customers complained, management decided to show workers what they expected by presenting photos of professional dress. The workers, appalled at having a "dowdy" dress code imposed, rang their union.

Organiser Joe Gallagher stepped in and negotiated a middle-of-the-road dress code that both sides could live with.

The bosses were generous to concede anything: they could have stood their ground, and if the workers didn't comply with the new code they could, after the required warnings, be fired.

New Zealand bosses have the right to dictate how their staff will look, as long as their requirements are fair and reasonable. If they don't want pierced body parts or vibrantly coloured hair presented to their customers, they can ban it.

The only time employers might overstep the mark is when their demands offend a person's culture or religion - that can be discriminatory under the Human Rights Act.

But there is no legal framework that restricts the extent to which employers can impose dress codes.

That's not to say workers who object should give up without a fight - they can contact the Labour Department's Employment Relations Service for free mediation.

Chief mediator Stephen Hooper says such cases often arise after staff receive a warning or are dismissed for failing to heed warnings.

"They tend to be young people who have got into trouble over nose rings or some such thing," he says. "They're a vulnerable group, and many walk away without realising that we're here to help bring both sides together."

People from other cultures also tend to walk away from dress code arguments.

Michael Barnett , of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, recalls a case when an Indian woman was offered a job.

"As she left, the employer made the throwaway remark that she wouldn't be wearing that red dot on her forehead to work, would she? She was culturally offended, but she didn't report the employer to the Human Rights Commission, she just didn't take the job."

Tony Wilton, general counsel to the Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union, represents members taking personal grievances over dress codes to the Employment Relations Authority.

"The overriding factor is whether the demand is reasonable, and the joy of that word is that it allows for a flexible, commonsense approach.

"You have to take into account the degree to which the employee has contact with the public. An employer could justly argue that his business would suffer if his counter staff looked scruffy, but it might be unreasonable to demand that male workers wear ties if they spend all day in a back room."

Dress codes can raise hackles in all types of workplaces. Christine Rankin, the former head of Work and Income, broke some unwritten rule that her ilk should not display cleavage or wear dangly earrings.

A prison officer is taking a personal grievance against the Corrections Department after being put on non-public duties until he shears his dreadlocks.

Hot and bothered workers at a parcel-sorting depot protested when ordered to swap singlets for T-shirts.

Employment contracts usually contain a general requirement to dress appropriately, says Kevin McKenna, director of human relations advisory services at PricewaterhouseCoopers. More detail may be given in the company handbook or on its website.

A firm's dress code is often driven by customer expectations. Ask yourself: "Would I feel comfortable meeting clients/customers dressed like this?"

One employer tells of reluctantly having to arrange a meeting with a young employee about the cleavage she was showing.

"It was a creative workplace and in the office no one cared, but every now and then we had to pitch for business to big, conservative firms.

"Whispers about her appearance started getting back, and I had to explain to her that we might not win those firms' contracts if we didn't fit their stereotypes, even for a few hours.

"She was embarrassed, and I was embarrassed, but she did play ball.

"She left a few months later. I don't know whether the dress thing had much to do with it, but it wouldn't have helped."