A leading Dundee employment lawyer has defended dress codes at work after a charity shop volunteer was shown the door for wearing the wrong trousers.
Noele McClelland, head of the employment law team at Thorntons, said it is “perfectly acceptable” for the British Heart Foundation (BHF) to expect unpaid staff to comply with strict clothing rules.
As we reported, Dundee university graduate Carlos Saenz (42) offered his skills on the sales floor at the Wellgate Centre store but was twice asked to leave because his expensive designer trousers did not meet the manager’s standards.
Ms McClelland said: “It’s perfectly acceptable for an employer to put in place standards of dress that are acceptable to them. You wouldn’t expect to see a flight attendant dressed in jeans and a T-shirt.
“Dress codes are not a new thing. It’s used so employees can be identified by customers or to reinforce a company’s brand or image imagine the chaos if all supermarket employees dressed in their normal clothes?”
However, Carlos claims he was only told not to wear jeans and insists the Dockers slacks his wife bought him are not denim.
“On my induction day at BHF I was told I must not wear jeans and wear dark trousers,” he explained. “So, on my first day at work, I came with black trousers. I just did what I was told. And then the manager accused me of wearing jeans, without any explanation.”
Employment lawyer Noele said: “Employers need to be clear on why they need employees to dress in a particular way and be reasonable in specifying what will and will not be acceptable.”
Carlos said the dress code at BHF is “confusing”, adding: “If I was told that BHF demand a specific material for clothing, I’d never have volunteered there.
“I agree with everything the lawyer says. The key here is ‘be reasonable’. I think it is understandable not to wear jeans and wear black trousers to look serious and professional.
“However, I don’t think it is reasonable to demand a specific material for volunteers. That’s far too much for an unpaid job. If they are so picky with the clothing, they should pay, or provide the clothing.”
The Spaniard, who moved to Dundee 15 years ago, also claimed management “bullied” and “humiliated” him at staff meetings over his choice of trousers.
He insists some volunteers were not singled out in the same way.
“A new girl arrived to work wearing black jeans,” said Carlos. “There was no doubt it was jeans; it had the traditional front pocket, the traditional back pocket, traditional seams, the traditional rivets and the traditional rough texture. “The manager spent the whole morning with her teaching her tasks, and did not seem to have a problem with her clothing.
“On the other hand, I was reprimanded every day for wearing black and dark blue Dockers. I was asked to leave the shop.”
Noele said: “Any dress code that is implemented should also not be discriminatory. For example, if a man is allowed to wear jeans in the workplace, but a woman doing the same job is not, that would be sex discrimination.”
BHF, which has launched an internal investigation, declined to comment.