Can a company demand that a low paid employee wear expensive clothes ?

[Ouija 10]

I don't know about insisting on expensive clothes. But a dress code, yeah, most places have that. I'd agree with what other people have said. You can pick up reasonably priced suits and if he was to go for the basic black and mix/match shirts/ties, he could kit himself out for work without spending a fortune.

[Bedders 10]

Can a company demand that you buy expensive clothes for a job?

 

I’m posting on behalf of my brother, he is relatively low paid, yet is expected to turn up to work in suits each day.

 

Its catch 22, he got no spare cash, and so can’t afford expensive clothes, he doesn’t buy expensive clothes and so gets into hot water with the boss.

 

Basically if he did buy the suits, then he wouldn’t be able to pay for the things needed in life (ie rent)

 

So what can he do?

 

Mate of mine had the same some years ago. Spend most of his not-great- wage on suits, shirts, ties,shoes. Never had no money to do anything like lads holidays, or to buy a decent motor. He had an 850 mini! He worked there from leaving school to 25 & jacked the whole thing in. Went to uni as a mature student, got a degree & a job in a totally different field. He's happy as a pig in muck.

 

Not saying this is the way to go, as jobs were a little easier to come by then & this is the credit crunch.

 

Perhaps you could have a look at the contract of employment & see what it says in writing with regard to the dress code? I'd be suprised if it said you must wear expensive designer suits?

 

Like you say it's catch 22. Think you have to sit down & be objective. Look at what you want in life & how you aim to get it.

 

Good Luck.

[Conker2 10]

It depends on what the relation is between his wage, his role, and the boss's expectations. For example, if he's on the minimum wage, doesn't work in sight of the public, and is expected to wear clothes that would normally cost a month's wages, then I would say that it isn't on.

[Titanic99 10]

Having just read through this thread,i think that you need to grow up a tad and thank your lucky stars for what you have,a bloody job for starters..

It is trouble causing staff like you that are a bain to employers,bet you cannot wait for Friday at 5 to come then go out and slag off the company you work for,whilst cheerily holding your grubby little mitt out for the pay packet. I suppose you are a fully paid up member of where there is a claim there is a blame brigade too:help:

 

I don't know how you've concluded this from my posts.

 

Anyway, I work in an open plan office, our dress code is very informal with no-one wearing a tie never mind a suit.

 

The office is air-conditioned, on one side of it the temperature is around 65-70 degrees and on the other it is around 80 degrees.

 

Are you seriously suggesting that people should sit around in suits in this temperature just because some pillock of a boss thinks they should.

 

One of the many parts of a Managers role is to motivate people, to compel them to do this in these conditions is nothing but sheer madness.

[mrmist 10]

One of the many parts of a Managers role is to motivate people, to compel them to do this in these conditions is nothing but sheer madness.

 

Maybe, but that's a fairly simplistic view of it and there are a lot of other factors that have to be considered.

 

In a large company, the immediate manager may not have the power to change company policy on dress code.

 

In a client-facing role, the company may want a certain image to be portrayed, which demands smart dress.

 

Even if an individual is not client-facing, if he works in an office that has customers visiting the site, then the same thing might apply.

 

Really it's not quite as simple as just shouting "power to the people" and turning up to work in shorts and a megadeath t-shirt. I'm sure that most decent managers are acutely aware of what makes their staff happy - that doesn't always mean that they are free to make it so.

 

So to go back to the original post of the thread, it's not unreasonable to have a dress-code, but I would expect it to depend on what job it is. That said, it's not just office workers who have dress codes. A lot of people working in all sorts of jobs have to pay for thier uniforms or work clothes, and a suit doesn't have to be expensive.

[saxondale 10]

Pot -> Kettle.

 

How many people do you employ saxondale?

 

 

four direct and upto 6 contract - yourself?

[Titanic99 10]

Maybe, but that's a fairly simplistic view of it and there are a lot of other factors that have to be considered.

 

In a large company, the immediate manager may not have the power to change company policy on dress code.

 

In a client-facing role, the company may want a certain image to be portrayed, which demands smart dress.

 

Even if an individual is not client-facing, if he works in an office that has customers visiting the site, then the same thing might apply.

 

 

Simplistic yes, but also correct.

 

I agree conventional viewpoint thinks like you; however, if that conventional viewpoint serves no benefit then let's try and change it.

 

Turning things round slightly.

 

One of the groups of people that seem to wear suits are mortgage advisors; would you be bothered if you were interviewed by one of these and they weren't wearing a suit and still gave you the excellent advice you wanted (BTW I'm not one of these, they are used as an example).

 

I can honestly say that it wouldn't bother me in the slightest, and I'm interested to know why it bothers others.

[lizmachin 10]

Not if the job involves interacting with clients, and the clients have expectations about dress.

Or we'd all be working in jeans and t-shirts.

 

 

A couple of days ago I was in a bank sorting out some foreign exchange. The counter assistant called out to a spotty youth for advice. He didn't look as though he had shaved for a couple of days and addressed me from 3 metres away whilst he had a finger stuck up his nostril.

 

There is casual and there is lack of standards. This was sheer lack of standards and has probably ensured I retain a down market image of the place for ever.

[mrmist 10]

I can honestly say that it wouldn't bother me in the slightest, and I'm interested to know why it bothers others.

 

It probably wouldn't bother me either. I don't really know. But then we are a society of tradition and tradition tends to stick, or, at least, only change slowly. So it reamins that image does matter to quite a few people, and for a lot of places the image that works is a suit.

 

But the title of this thread was about forcing people to buy "expensive" clothes, and a suit doesn't have to be expensive. If an individual employee feels that suits are a bad idea, then they are at liberty to move to a more "progressive" company or talk to their bosses about changing policy.

[cgksheff 44]

Someone mentioned this earlier, but I don't see an answer.

 

Is this suit business a requirement in either his contract, terms and conditions or any additional letter to staff?

 

Is there any possible requirement for direct contact with the public or clients?

 

If the answer to both of these is "No", then let him go to work in other smart clothes and see what happens.

[slimsid2000 10]

Can a company demand that you buy expensive clothes for a job?

 

I’m posting on behalf of my brother, he is relatively low paid, yet is expected to turn up to work in suits each day.

 

Its catch 22, he got no spare cash, and so can’t afford expensive clothes, he doesn’t buy expensive clothes and so gets into hot water with the boss.

 

Basically if he did buy the suits, then he wouldn’t be able to pay for the things needed in life (ie rent)

 

So what can he do?

 

Ask the boss to buy the suits for him if he is that bothered.　Or demand a pay rise.

[PeoplesVoice 10]

If an employee cannot be bothered to dress according to the standards set by the field of business he or she is in, I would take a very dim view. It's as much about attitude as it is appearance.