Can my employer remove trousers from the female unifom option?

[lisi-heffa11]

My employer provides my uniform. For the past 5 years we have been provided with the choice to wear what we like from the uniform they provide. Our options are currently either dress, skirt (Navy or beige), shirts (Long or short sleeved), jumper & trousers (navy). We have recently merged with another company and as of next year we are all going to be wearing the same uniform. The company has decided however that it wants to streamline the uniform we currrently have and has decided it wants to put us in beige skirts and shirts which is very unpopular amongst female employees. My question is that having provided us female employees with the option to wear trousers (for the past 5 years) to work (which the majority of us do) are they allowed to suddenly remove that option from us??

Thanking you in anticipation of your help!!
L

[bednobs]

i would have thought so. Your employers can state what you wear at work

[dot.hawkes]

Unless they say the blokes have to wear the same i don;t think they can do this, they would be discriminating

[Ethel]

The only case law that I am aware of concerning this is 30 years old and the Appeals Tribunal ruled it was not sex discrimination to insist women wear skirts, provided men had to abide by a dress code as well.

But times have changed and it is much more acceptable for women to wear smart trousers in the workplace. With some religions insisting women keep their legs covered it is easier to allow all women to wear trousers rather than have to allow some to but not all.

Are you in a union?

[grivitate]

maybe she just hopes one day she will catch a glims of your snatch when you are going commando?

Maybe this isnt correct though?

[pink-kittens]

Ethel

Just asking, but if the men had to abide by the same dress code as the women as skirts are on their uniform list, would the women now have to abide by the men's dress code of including trousers?
#

[Ethel]

pink kittens

If there is a compulsory uniform or dress code in the work place, it should apply to both men and women.

This does not mean men and women have to wear the same clothes, just that they have the same restrictions in choice.

So if women are told 'no denim and t shirts' that should apply to men.

Look at airlines - many expect their female cabin crew to wear knee length skirts and jackets, male cabin crew trousers and jackets. That is not discrimation - they are both wearing uniform.

[terambulan]

The company has merged and therefore under new management, if you don't like changes now is the time to resign.

The new managment can impose new contracts.

[pandabear123]

i dont really know if they can do this legally or not but i had the same situation with my employer 2 years ago. a new manager took over and made an outragious list of things we must start doing (brush teeth after every cigarette or as soon as you have eaten. shower twice daily and never use perfume, All females to wear makeup and have hair tied back in a black bobble which should be no more that 1/2cm in diameter ect...) as you can immagine we were far from impressed.

we went to the citizend advice and they told us that there wasnt really much we could do.

we ended up just confronting our boss (with the lads full support too) and after talking it through we come to some agreements. skirts to be worn on very important days (eg weddings) she also agreed that our showering habbits were none of her buisness. there are still things on the list that we dont really like,like having to wear makeup, but atleast we have a little bit more freedom now.

so i think maybe, as long as the whole team support you, it would be worth just sitting down and telling them your thoughts.

[pink-kittens]

Thanks Ethel - I see what you mean now :)

[Info Bank]

My Wife has never been a Skirt wearer.

She started woking in ASDA many years ago and to cut a long story short ....Walk into ASDA ands see how many Workers (Femail) are in skirts.

My wife many years ago Was given a Femail Version of ASDA,s Dress code.

It is now all Uni Sex.

[lisi-heffa11]

Thanks everybody for your answers. Yes we do have a uniform and as one of you commented about an airline uniform it is an airline!! Dont appreciate Terambulans comments though - I did not say that I dont like change - and your comment that I should think about resigning was out of order - I simply wanted to know is there any law that says companies can not remove the trousers from females once they have been given the option to wear trousers as one of my co workers believes there is an EU directive to do with this. Cheers again everyone!!