A charity has apologised to a shop volunteer who was shown the door for wearing the wrong trousers.
Carlos Saenz was told to leave the British Heart Foundation’s Dundee branch because his expensive designer slacks did not meet the manager’s standards.
The 42-year-old Dundee University graduate, who moved to the city from Spain 15 years ago, had offered to help out to get sales experience.
He arrived for an induction in jeans and was told that denim did not comply with a strict dress code.
His wife bought him smart Dockers slacks in black and navy blue but the store manager was not satisfied and twice sent him home.
British Heart Foundation bosses launched an investigation after The Courier stepped in to help Carlos find suitable clothes.
Carlos vowed to stay away from the charity shop, however, claiming he was “bullied” and “humiliated” at staff meetings.
Regional manager for Scotland Phil Dent on Thursday apologised for his treatment and said workers at the Wellgate Centre shop are to be given additional training.
“We are sorry to hear about this incident and investigated what happened at the Dundee BHF Furniture and Electrical Store as a matter of urgency,” Mr Dent told The Courier.
“I’d like to personally apologise to Mr Saenz and reassure him that additional training will be conducted at the Dundee store to ensure this does not happen again.”
Carlos said BHF customer service staff admitted during a telephone call that there is no dress code for volunteers.
“Customer service called to let me know the investigation was finished and they apologised,” he said. “They said the incident should never have happened because there is nowhere in writing about the material volunteers should wear.”
He said he remains unhappy and hopes other volunteers are not treated the same way in future.
“It’s the usual,” said Carlos. “They tell you they take it very seriously and later on give me a general apology, that’s all. I don’t even know if they had a proper investigation at all. I just hope they will do something so this will never happen again to other volunteers.”
Mr Dent added: “Volunteers are vital to the success of our stores. We have 20,000 volunteers and simply couldn’t continue the fight against heart disease without them.”