Employment Commentary - 5/1/10
Discrimination in Dress Codes
The Appeal Tribunal yesterday handed down a decision in the case of Dansie V Metropolitan Police which came about as a result of the Police Force asking a male trainee to cut his hair. The male trainee's hair was said to be shoulder length which the police found to be a contravention of their dress code.
The case proceeded to Tribunal with the trainee police officer claiming that he was not treated the same as female trainees who were allowed to have shoulder length hair.
In a common sense decision, the Tribunal and the Appeal Tribunal confirmed that there was no discrimination, because the overall dress code was equally balanced between the sexes. The Appeal Tribunal indicated that the legal test involved applying contemporary standards and conventions and this in itself required different lengths of hair between men and women. Men and women it concluded were required to have or display the equivalent level of smartness.
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