It might help if you could tell us what kind of tattoo they object too

What is the rationale for this request?

In reply to David Perry:

It's more facial piercings at the moment

In reply to Adham:

It appears that a new member of staff has multiple facial piercings, and this has raised some concerns.

It would help to know how restrictive the employer wants to be.

In principle an employer can set some reasonable rules about the image its wants colleagues to present including things like Tattoos and multiple /facial piercings etc. A reasonable employer would probably have some exceptions if someone already has them and then a policy for going forward.

Key will be rules being reasonable, how you approach those already over your new line in the sand and how you communicate it

If handled well its unlikely you place the employer at any great risk here

In reply to Keith:

Thanks, Keith. I have a meeting in the coming week to discuss exactly this. I'll ensure that it is discussed and implemented in a reasonable way.

In reply to Kellyanne:

There's nothing to stop you - or the line manager to simply talk to the individual and say that the "multiple facial piercings" are unacceptable at work.

You don't necessarily need a Tattoo or Piercing Code to do this. Whilst there are clear advantages in having one, there is a danger of tying yourselves in knots if you have a policy which is either to specific or too vague:-.

"The policy says only one nose ring. OK so mines the size of nose ring from a bull but your policy doesn't say what size they can be", sort of thing..

In reply to Kellyanne:

Just to check the facial piercings appeared after they were appointed to the role and speaking of roles, what type of work does this person do?

I agree with David.I also think there should be enough in the code of conduct to ask the teacher to reflect on their attire whilst at school free time fine but they should be mindful of this and should have ideally brought this up in their interview Q&A if they cannot justify the reason say on an equalities grounds you could site health and safety for the removal. They need to follow as other teachers are following and take note of the probation period. In addition as this is a probationary phase you may want to use this time to see how this is managed in that context. It maybe this person is unsuitable for the role but do look at other schools policies and check to make sure there is alignment. On health and safety grounds you maybe able to ask them to remove it.

Our school policy regarding dress code says:

As in most matters, the example set by Staff is an important yardstick for pupils. In general, Staff are expected to be no less formally dressed than pupils are expected to be, and should maintain high standards of appearance.

Although we don't specifically mention tattoos and piercings, if the overall impression given by a member of staff was that their appearance was not consistent with the standards we demand from pupils, we would speak to them quietly. We find we need to reset the boundaries re trainers for example periodically with staff - where some staff need to wear trainers for health or practical reasons, but when everyone is doing it it's harder to enforce the expectations that pupils will be wearing formal shoes. Similarly, setting an arbitrary figure on how many piercings, or the quality/content of tattoos is harder to specify in a policy than the intended outcome.

If this is a position you're changing, I'd start from that basis: the intended outcome. Why does it need to change, and what do you expect to happen as a result of the change. If staff can be convinced of that need/opportunity, you'll be much more likely to get them on board.

Good luck.

Nina

In reply to Nina Waters:

I hate to add to the confusion but it sort of depends upon subject are/level as well.

A teacher who covers Art or ALevel drama might be expected by parents/pupils to have a slightly more eclectic style than a primary school teacher or a ks3 maths teacher.

At secondary I had a RE teacher who was a born again rehabilitated tearaway with numerous self administered tattoos on his hands/forearms - his back story helped with his pastoral messages in many ways

In reply to Ian:

I completely agree - the setting and context is key. A sixth form college with no uniform requirements for its students would probably take a very different approach to the independent school where I work.

In reply to Nina Waters:

Mine was an independent school ! (with a very very strict uniform policy for pupils)

Hi Kellyanne ,

A couple of related threads from this year that you may also wish to read through, too. Both school settings.

 School employee not following dress code 

 New manager is enforcing our dress code