Is it legal to ask a bloke not to wear make up in work?
Discussion
I tried asking this in employment and a few suggested I try here instead...
It's academic. Basically I was in work the other day, and had nail varnish on owing to a fancy dress work event the night before and a lack of remover. It was taken with either in a positive manner (or ambivalence) so I have no concerns professionally. I am however curious about the legalities of it.
I often work at home and in hospitals, with occasional trips to the office where it's "office attire". It's a very large, extremely successful company, but dress code has only ever been implied verbally, there are no dress policies, and there is nothing in my contract regarding dress codes. I am fairly certain of this. If something exists it is buried in another policy and only will state "office attire" or similar.
So if a bloke turns up at the office wearing nail varnish, to a standard that would be considered acceptable to female colleagues, can your employer insist you remove it without falling foul of any legislation?
Conversely, if there was a dress code policy that implicitly stated men could not wear make up, is this acceptable from a legal stand point?
It's academic. Basically I was in work the other day, and had nail varnish on owing to a fancy dress work event the night before and a lack of remover. It was taken with either in a positive manner (or ambivalence) so I have no concerns professionally. I am however curious about the legalities of it.
I often work at home and in hospitals, with occasional trips to the office where it's "office attire". It's a very large, extremely successful company, but dress code has only ever been implied verbally, there are no dress policies, and there is nothing in my contract regarding dress codes. I am fairly certain of this. If something exists it is buried in another policy and only will state "office attire" or similar.
So if a bloke turns up at the office wearing nail varnish, to a standard that would be considered acceptable to female colleagues, can your employer insist you remove it without falling foul of any legislation?
Conversely, if there was a dress code policy that implicitly stated men could not wear make up, is this acceptable from a legal stand point?
Unless there's reason not to. I.e. at my work, clean room staff aren't allowed to wear rings with a jewel in them; only plain. Whereas office workers can wear anything. But if they turned around and said "Males can wear rings with jewels, but females can't" there'd be sexist uproar.
So no, I can't see it being legal; unless it's a rule for everybody.
So no, I can't see it being legal; unless it's a rule for everybody.
Jonno02 said:
Unless there's reason not to. I.e. at my work, clean room staff aren't allowed to wear rings with a jewel in them; only plain. Whereas office workers can wear anything. But if they turned around and said "Males can wear rings with jewels, but females can't" there'd be sexist uproar.
So no, I can't see it being legal; unless it's a rule for everybody.
I think some forms of discrimination are legal but agree in this case any justification to dress in a certain way would seem to be just as a result of just being a heterosexual male and perceptions on their appearance, which seems a bit off?So no, I can't see it being legal; unless it's a rule for everybody.
I mean presumably HR can't just say "Are you covered by LGBT? If not you cannot wear make up", after all I thought the whole point was sexuality identity/orientation wasn't supposed to be relevant?
Prof Prolapse said:
I Basically I was in work the other day, and had nail varnish on owing to a fancy dress work event the night before and a lack of remover.
And you reckon Harley riders are the gheyers? Worst excuse evah Prof 
But from a legal point of view, I don't think you can discriminate.
You can have a dress code though.
Personally, it wouldn't bother me if any of my blokes turned up doing the full Eddie Izzard but customers might not see it that way, hence the work rules.
HD Adam said:
Personally, it wouldn't bother me if any of my blokes turned up doing the full Eddie Izzard but customers might not see it that way, hence the work rules.
I was seriously considering this when I was working in my local job centre plus back in 2009. I didn't need the job, but it was fascinating and close to home over a snowy winter. However my boss was this dreadful horrible smelly and very thick woman who as far as I could tell had got her job to fill some kind of quota. I loved annoying her. I was giving very serious consideration to turning up to work looking completely normal but wearing a pink frock - this is the civil service so right up there on the inclusive/embracing/diverse right-on bandwagon. I don't think there is anything that they could have done, and it would probably have made the benefit claimant's day (or "customers" as we called them).
I never did it though.
Not the done thing to ask a chap to remove it nowadays. Organisations like Stonewall and the variety of LGBT teams / task forces are doing their best to stop any discrimination and getting some good traction with it.
We’ve got a chap that wears nail polish and what look like pop socks under his trousers but I’m not asking if they go all the way up or not haha.
The powers that be have even added a new sign to our disabled toilet doors to also labelled them as gender neutral toilets too.
Some companies / industries will be lagging behind others but can’t see that they can all hold out much longer
We’ve got a chap that wears nail polish and what look like pop socks under his trousers but I’m not asking if they go all the way up or not haha.
The powers that be have even added a new sign to our disabled toilet doors to also labelled them as gender neutral toilets too.
Some companies / industries will be lagging behind others but can’t see that they can all hold out much longer
Prof Prolapse said:
...
So if a bloke turns up at the office wearing nail varnish, to a standard that would be considered acceptable to female colleagues, can your employer insist you remove it without falling foul of any legislation?
Conversely, if there was a dress code policy that implicitly stated men could not wear make up, is this acceptable from a legal stand point?
1, No.So if a bloke turns up at the office wearing nail varnish, to a standard that would be considered acceptable to female colleagues, can your employer insist you remove it without falling foul of any legislation?
Conversely, if there was a dress code policy that implicitly stated men could not wear make up, is this acceptable from a legal stand point?
2. Surely you mean explicitly. The answer is again no.
Edited by anonymous-user on Sunday 5th November 06:38
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