How should employers should approach dress codes in a heatwave?

Rebecca Fox, Partner in our Employment team, has been sharing her thoughts with the HR and legal press.

She explains: “Dress codes can play an important role in the workplace, but they should be driven by legitimate business needs. What counts as legitimate will vary by role and industry, and it's worth reassessing when conditions change significantly, as they do in a heatwave.”

Rebecca highlights that employers must apply a dress code fairly and consistently. “A policy that overtly treats one sex less favourably than the other is likely to amount to direct sex discrimination. A dress code that bans men from wearing shorts, while permitting women to wear skirts, dresses or shorts, is a good example of this. This gives one sex noticeably more scope than the other to dress in a way that helps them manage the heat.”

Indirect discrimination is also possible where a rule applies equally to everyone, but disadvantages a particular group because of a protected characteristic, and the employer cannot show it is a proportionate way of meeting a legitimate aim. Rebecca explains: “A strict, multi-layer uniform requirement is a good example, as on the face of it the policy doesn't target anyone and applies to all employees equally, regardless of their individual circumstances. However, in periods of extreme heat, its practical effect can fall unevenly across the workforce. Some groups may find additional layers of clothing considerably harder to manage. This can be for reasons connected to a protected characteristic such as menopausal symptoms. Where a policy that looks neutral on paper produces this kind of disproportionate impact in practice, it can amount to indirect discrimination.”

Rebecca notes that employers should also consider their duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled employees. Care should also be taken about how dress codes apply to employees working from home, where they may not have air conditioning.

Rebecca concludes: “Ultimately, a dress code that flexes sensibly with the weather and is applied consistently across the workforce is far less likely to create legal risk than one that stays rigid regardless of conditions.”

Read the article: People Management

For more information, please get in touch with Rebecca Fox, or a member of VWV's specialist Employment team.