No wedding rings for hairdressers
I am quoting from an article in yesterday's Sunday Times by Mark Hookham:-
'The government is fighting plans to dress down Britain's hairdressers by taking away their high heels and jewellery.
Ministers are seeking to block European proposals to ban women in salons from wearing heels and jewellery on their arms.
Mark Hoban, the emplyment minister, has written to the European commission condemning the "overzealous" plan to regulate the industry.
The health and safety rules would force stylists to wear "non-slip" shoes, preventing them from wearing high heels or other fashionable shoes.
it would also ban them from wearing any jewellery on their arms or hands, including watches and wedding rings, because "the skin underneath them is particularly prone to disease as a result of dampness and chemicals".
They even stipulate that "to ensure a high level of skin protection and hand hygiene" workers should apply hand cream before starting work, before breaks and at the end of the day." In addition, when appropriate, workers shall cleanse their hands with pH-neutral cleanser, dry them well and cream them," the rules state.
The protest letter has been led by the Netherlands and UK governments and has been signed by Germany, Estonia, Poland, Slovenia, Finland, Sweden, Romania and Croatia.
The proposed rules, which the industry claims would cost the British hairdressers an estimated £75m a year, were agreed in April by Coiffure EU, a group of salon bosses, and UNI Europa Hair & Beauty, a union. Both groups are "social partners" of the European commission".
If this article had been published on 1st April, I would have suspected an April Fool joke. However, it is deadly serious.
Comments please.