Homework Question - Employers Telling Employees What to Wear to Work?

[Kislev]

Hello there,

I am currently studying business law and I currently have a rather large case study to tackle. So far so good but I am having difficulty with one question.....

Can you tell an employee what to wear to work? What if they refuse?

This is in regards to a hypothetical situation. As part of IRAC I am required to find a legislative law or act or code, or something concrete but I haven't been able to find anything! I have been primarily looking through here: Federal Register of Legislation

I have found plenty of sites stating (usually yes, so long as its reasonable,) but I need to actually be able to find something they would use in a case. Is there somewhere where this information could be found? Could you point me toward it or give me some pointers?

Any help that you guys could give me would be really appreciated, I've been really stuck on this one :\

Thanks in advance

 

[Lance]

Hi Kislev,

I don't know of any specific legislation that supports workplace directed dress codes, except in the case of personal protective uniforms. The Australian Human rights commission details guidelines around dress codes.

As long as the employer is being fair and reasonable with their direction its perfectly acceptable. That said if they mandate something like 'women are to wear skirts' that would likely be considered discriminatory and the discrimination laws would be in play. Legislation | Australian Human Rights Commission

 

[Rod]

The Fair Work Act legislation allows Modern awards and Enterprise agreements. So by extension you need to check the relevant award or agreement for clauses relating to clothing. I also agree with Lance in that a code cannot be discriminatory.