A Whiter Shade of Pale
Sharon McKnight SPHR
737 Posts
I came across an article (link below) about an employee that worked at a large London department store for four years and then was fired for not following their dress code policy. The store's female employees are required to wear makeup and the employee in question failed to do that.
I can see how a department store would want its employees to "model" what it's selling, but perhaps specifying not just that the female employees have to wear makeup but how much and what types of makeup is carrying it a bit too far.
How strict are your dress code policies? Is your policy generic enough to apply to both men and women? Do you have stricter rules for either gender?
Sharon
[URL]http://thelook.today.com/_news/2011/07/06/7028476-do-you-have-to-wear-makeup-at-work[/URL]
I can see how a department store would want its employees to "model" what it's selling, but perhaps specifying not just that the female employees have to wear makeup but how much and what types of makeup is carrying it a bit too far.
How strict are your dress code policies? Is your policy generic enough to apply to both men and women? Do you have stricter rules for either gender?
Sharon
[URL]http://thelook.today.com/_news/2011/07/06/7028476-do-you-have-to-wear-makeup-at-work[/URL]
Comments
Quite honestly, I would rather see an employee wearing no makeup than some I know who wear way too much makeup and come to work in a bank looking more like they should be onstage in a Vegas show!
If the fired employee was working as a regular sales associate (the article doesn't specify which department she worked in), then yes, I think her firing was unfair. But if she worked in make-up sales, then, well, that's different, at least to me.
Our dress code is generally uniform (sorry) and non-specific when it comes to gender EXCEPT when it seems sensible to have different guidelines for the different genders.
For example, our piercing policy has always been slightly different for men and women. Earrings for women have been socially acceptable much longer and so women have typically been allowed greater leeway. We only began allowing men to wear earrings at work five years ago.
I dont believe in the concept that one company's dress code would always be appropriate for another company. I think it varies by industry. If we were a funky coffee shop in downtown Portland I would have a completely different dress code.
Glad someone caught on to that! Can you name the band, too?
I understand the store may have reasons for not wanting "A Whiter Shade of Pale" working the makeup counter. I just wish they would be as strict with "Rocky Raccoon".