Campaigners say people should be able to dress & appear as they want at work after Tribunal shorts finding

Beard Liberation Front

9^th January

Campaigners say people should be able to dress & appear as they want after Tribunal shorts finding

The Beard Liberation Front, the informal network of beard wearers, has reaffirmed one of its fundamental principles that people should be able to dress and appear as they want, including at work.

The move comes after a Tribunal finding in the case of a former employee of Boots Mukid Miah.

The claim refers to a range of issues that related to Mr Miah eventually resigning from his job at Boots Preston Pharma warehouse in 2018/19. The Tribunal decision has only just been made (see Editorial The Times 9^th January) partly due to COVID-19 delays.

The Tribunal did not uphold any of Mr Miah’s claims partly because they were out of time and partly because it believed they were unfounded. Claims to Tribunals must, in most cases, be made within 89 days of the last act in the matter complained of.

However the Tribunal did indicate that it would have upheld Mr Miah’s claim that he was discriminated against for wearing shorts had it been in time. Details are at paras 121-128 of this link:

Mr Miah complained that he had been disciplined for wearing three quarter length shorts during the warm summer of 2018 while female employees had not. Boots had subsequently reviewed and changed their policy.

BLF Organiser Keith Flett said, we can see no reason why people should be stopped from wearing shorts at work providing they are appropriately worn and do not cause safety issues. In general it should be up to the individual how they dress and appear. Workplaces have become tolerant in this respect in recent times but there are still Victorian employers around.