In reply to Kimberly:

Hi Kimberly,

Thank you for your input and I wholly agree with the points you've made. It's difficult as I am not HR Director or involved in stakeholder's decisions but that doesn't mean I can't put my case across and make suggestions and seeing the views on this post has reinforced how important it is to allow people their individuality and their professionalism shouldn't be judged on tattoos, hair colour etc. I myself have tattoos and it was disheartening when I started at the school to know I could never wear a short sleeved blouse or dress. I think this does have to change and hopefully my voice may have an impact when the code is reviewed.

Chelsey

I haven't worked in a school environment but I am the HR Director for an SME and I have two brightly coloured sleeve tattoos, which has come up in previous roles.

Perhaps an unpopular opinion judging from the responses in this thread but I don't think there is any problem (ethically) with discriminating against this individual's hair colour in this instance.

If they were sent the uniform policy, and it states that extreme hair colours are not permitted, then this individual knew what they signed up for and the employer has been nothing but transparent in doing so.

Whilst I too would like things like bright hair colours or tattoos to be less of a taboo in certain professions, there is a commercial aspect to consider here. If it is a private school, for example, that attracts the sort of demographic that may frown upon excessive tattoos/hair etc. then this could cost the employer potential revenue.

As a tattoo covered man I agree it is a shame this sort of thing still exists, but as an HR professional with commercial sense I can also understand why an employer would like to maintain traditional standards, especially if there is evidence it supports with revenue/profit.

Hope that makes sense.

In reply to Charles:

Hi Charles,

I completely agree with you and it's great to hear from someone in a similar situation. I do agree that us as HR must do the best thing for the organisation and if that means abiding by and enforcing the dress code then so be it. We have been transparent from the start about our policy and have been reasonable with delivering the message to the employee and giving her a length of time to rectify her hair colour. I can sympathise that it's probably not the nicest message to receive but again it is my job to ensure procedure is followed.

Chelsey

In reply to Chelsey:

Hey Chelsey,

I think you are right to challenge, reflect and seek guidance on the matter which is what you are doing. I definitely think it would be worth you sitting with the Headmaster and understanding why they feel this policy is important to enforce in the first place. It's important to understand the Why, plus when you do find out, let me know as I wouldn't mind knowing either!

Charles

Others have already covered most of what I'd say, other than, what is "modest" dress? The word modest is generally only applied to and used to judge women. Would it be classed as discriminatory in an ET...probably not. Is it putting off potential staff...possibly. Is it causing you a retention or engagement issue...yes.
Unless your school's really unusual, and has no other issues with recruitment and retention, I'd question what a policy like this is achieving, other than reinforcing outdated ideas of professionalism that promote and reinforce kyriarchal systems of oppression

Hi Chelsea, I work for a training and education company, we have a new manager and she wants everyone to adhere to our existing dress code. A grace period is being allowed and we must then comply. She was asked about if anyone does not comply, she said that she hoped that everyone will willingly start complying through the given grace period, though if anyone is still not complying, she will take them through the discipline procedure. I was taken aback a little by this but probably because our previous manager was extremely easy going and never did anything like that. I don't know if you have seen the message I posted, if not, please take a look and let me know your view on it.

Gee

In reply to Guy:

Hi Gee,

Thank you for your post.

It sounds like our company has similar procedure in regard to dress code. I think in our school due to the strict dress code for the students it is believed that this should be reflected with the staff also. I've only been here for a year but we've never had any issues with staff not following it before as the rules are set out before they start so they know what is expected. I don't think the rules would ever be relaxed fully as we have to set an example for the children which therefore means a strict code of dress.

Let me know what you think.
Chelsey

In reply to Chelsey:

Hi Chelsea, thanks for your reply. I totally agree that as you have a strict dress code for the students, then staff need to set an example by adhering to the dress code themselves. If an employee is unwilling to comply with any written policy, would your usual procedure be to inform the employee that they will be disciplined?

The employee with the extreme hair colour that you needed to address obviously did not take kindly to it and it's unfortunate that they were defensive and responded by saying they would be handing in their notice. I do hope the employee concerned has reconsidered and you have come to an agreement. Please let me know.

Gee

In reply to Guy:

Hi Gee,

Yes they would then go through the disciplinary process if they fail to comply with the dress code. The employee seems to be wearing her hair in a ponytail now instead of down so the colour is not as noticeable but it is still bright green.

I will therefore be speaking to the Head about further steps and if he wants to go down the disciplinary procedure or speak to her directly as he is her line manager.

I'll keep you updated.
Chelsey

In reply to Chelsey:

Hi Chelsea

Thanks for posting an update, it seems like the employee is trying to compromise by wearing her hair in a ponytail. However, the colour is obviously still the same and bright green is rather extreme! So I guess this is still breaching your dress code and your head may not see what the employee is doing as an acceptable compromise.

In the situation I've been in, our head of department who is new in her post, asked everyone in the department to adhere to our written dress code which is more towards a formal business dress. For example for male members of staff like myself, a collared shirt and a tie should be worn but a full suit is not required. I am one of the older members of staff and I have previously worked for establishments where this kind of dress was required. So wearing more formal business attire isn't totally new to me though I have been used to dressing more casually for several years.

Like in your company, everyone is given a copy of the dress code when they start so they know what they are signing up to. The issue was that the formal dress code hasn't been enforced for quite a few years. It was never actually relaxed, it was just that our previous manager was not bothered about enforcing it and we have tended to dress more casually. The reason our head wanted the dress code to be strictly adhered to is although we are not public facing, clients are brought into our office and shown around and she would like a more professional looking image.

Our head addressed the department about this and allowed a three week period of grace and said she hoped that everyone would willingly start complying throughout the grace period. She did also put it to us that anyone seen not complying after the grace period would be formally disciplined.

Most of my colleagues actually feel that our new manager has been fair and handled it well, they feel it was the right approach to allow a grace period but also make it clear that if anyone is seen not complying after this period they will then be disciplined. They feel she has let us know where we stand and there can be no excuses or anyone saying they did not realise this and that.

At first, I was unsure that she had made the best approach around this, though I now have to say, although nearly all of us preferred being allowed to dress in more casual attire, the approach by our new manager has gone smoothly with everyone complying and no one giving our manager any grief or trying to take her to task over the matter.

I think our department will all now just get used to it and I don't foresee any issues. I do still hope that you can come to a suitable agreement with your employee and your issue can be resolved without any disciplinary procedures having to be taken. I would be interested to hear the outcome so please post a further update when you can.

Gee

Gee

In reply to Chelsey:

I once was contacted by a manager, when I worked for a well known Estate Agent chain who had an employee with bright blue hair. Their role was not customer facing. They asked me to advise the dress code. I said, all our code says is that hair must be neat, tidy and clean in appearance. I said, there was no mention of colour, if the employee's hair met these standards, why was the colour an issue? I soooo wanted to say to him, your choice of hairstyle is, tonnes of product, hair slicked so not a hair out of place, the smell whilst nice is over whelming for long periods, and your poor hair has no freedom of movement or to breath, but this is ok? To me, tattoo's, beautiful coloured hair and piercings, need to be readdressed. As I said to a manager, sometimes this will work to our advantage, opens conversations, Often, there is a story as to why someone does make these changes. Might even get an extra sale, identification of shared values!