Just in time for the annual "no flip-flops" memos in Canadian workplaces, an arbitrator has ruled that employers cannot impose dress codes unless they have a solid business case for telling employees what to wear.
In striking down the Kitchener-Waterloo Record's attempt to ban blue jeans, flip-flops, Birkenstocks, track pants and tank tops, arbitrator Joseph Rose said in a recent decision that the newspaper had not demonstrated that a dress code was necessary to attract new customers or increase sales.
The arbitrator also expressed puzzlement that the "business casual" dress code permitted black jeans, but not blue jeans -- unless approved by a department manager for wear on a specific assignment.
"One might reasonably ask why expensive, designer blue jeans would not be acceptable, but cheap knock-off black jeans would be acceptable," Mr. Rose wrote.
The dress code has now been abandoned, publisher Fred Kuntz says, and employees are being asked to simply use their common sense. "When the arbitrator said we did not have the right to make these rules, we said okay, to heck with it, and we dropped the whole thing."
But, Mr. Kuntz adds, the proposed dress code was not onerous to begin with. The newspaper was not insisting -- as some more conservative employers do -- on shirts and ties, dresses and stockings.
Indeed, dress codes are not uncommon, according to Toronto-based Mercer Human Resources Consulting. It found that almost half of 130 major employers it recently canvassed require employees who have daily contact with the public to dress in "business casual" clothes, or better.
Employees in many non-unionized workplaces have no choice but to comply with employer-imposed standards, labour lawyer Tim Gleason says. But in other unionized workplaces, the newspaper decision could be a weapon for employees who don't want dress standards imposed, he says.
The newsroom's employees -- offended at being told how to dress -- filed a grievance through their union and the case went to arbitration. In arguing the case, Mr. Gleason cited a prior ruling by arbitrator Owen Shime that "there is no absolute right in an employer to create an employee in his own image."
If the Kitchener-Waterloo Record had demonstrated that the clothing choices of employees were affecting their ability to do the job -- "if the mayor had refused to give an interview," for instance, because of the way someone dressed -- the case might have gone differently.
The newspaper employees testified that they dress for the occasion -- dressing up to cover a funeral or some other formal event, but adopting more casual garb when they are inside the office.
Mr. Gleason says he also prefers to dress informally in the office when he is not meeting clients. "I wear shorts, flip-flops and T-shirts all the time in the summer. The way my employer views it is that I'm hired to do a job."
However, he also has suits at the ready to put on when he goes to a hearing.
Mr. Kuntz, who wore jeans and T-shirts himself in his earlier days as an editor, says the dress code suggestion actually came from a committee of employees when the newspaper moved to a new, open-plan office. One of the aims was to encourage more visitors to the newsroom.
In addition to flip-flops, blue jeans, track pants and Birkenstocks, the Kitchener-Waterloo Record had attempted to ban leggings, frayed, ripped or provocative clothing, spaghetti straps, jean jackets and shorts.
"We wanted to make this a place for the community and we wanted to project an image of a pretty professional, sharp group of people," Mr. Kuntz says.
Mr. Gleason understands the quandary that presents for employers that want to project the right image while still respecting the rights of employees to dress as they wish.
"It is a lot tougher for employers because society is loosening up quite a bit."
While many employers have adopted "business casual" dress codes and casual Fridays to keep staff happy, many others are regretting the move to more casual workplace fashion norms, say image consultants Shannon Smith of Toronto-based Premiere Image and Catherine Bell of Kingston, Ont.-based Prime Impressions.
Confusion over what constitutes "business casual" is also a problem. Ms. Bell has a particular aversion to flip-flops -- not only do they belong at the beach, "they create a lot of noise and distraction," she says.
Ms. Smith has encountered receptionists wearing track suits and men without socks. "You must wear socks!" she says.
Many employers allow casual wear -- jeans, T-shirts and the like -- for employees who are not in the public eye. But this should not be taken as licence to wear muscle shirts, halter tops or cut-off shorts, they advise.
Mr. Gleason says employees with union representation are in a far better position to assert their rights of personal expression than those who are unrepresented.
Even so, he says, many choose to adopt the written -- or unwritten -- dress code.
"They want to be promoted, they want to be in the good books of the employer," he says.
Ms. Bell agrees that it does not hurt to dress up a notch. Especially for those who want to be promoted, image counts, she says. "It is important to dress the part."
Even though the code has been abandoned, Mr. Kuntz says staff, for the most part, dress well -- unlike at another newspaper he once worked at where a senior editor had to tell an employee to put on shoes and socks.
Business attire
The suit (men): Dark and understated, preferably black, navy or charcoal grey. White or off-white shirt and tie. Dress shoes and 'upscale socks.'
The suit (women): Dark with matching
jacket and pants or skirt -- preferably a skirt. 'Muted blouse,' usually means white or off-white.
Stockings and closed-toe pumps.
Business casual attire:
Trendy but dressy (men): Blazer or sports jacket. Collared shirt (good-quality golf shirt is fine). Dress slacks or well-cut khakis. No denim.
Smart and pulled-together (women): Tailored jacket and pants or skirt. Dress with sleeves, or sleeveless dress with jacket or sweater.
Capris acceptable in some workplaces.
Business fashion crimes
The grunge look (men): Muscle shirts, cutoff shirts, baseball caps, sweat pants, torn or frayed clothing, Birkenstocks.
Revealing too much (women): Bare midriffs, mini-skirts or short shorts. Tight little T-shirts, halter tops, spaghetti straps, flip-flops.
