Dorchester Hotel May Face Legal Action Over Staff Grooming Rules

The Dorchester may be one of the most luxurious hotels in the UK but no business is powerful enough to dictate how female staff should groom their bodies as the hotel is planning to.

A list of the rules the business plans to implement for their female staff has been criticised after it was emailed to staff by the hotel’s managers; subsequently causing outrage due to the excessive demand it intends to place on female employees’ appearances.

The five-star hotel claims its new rules are the result of customer complaints over the hygiene of staff members, but the nature of the demands is deeply unfair. The list states women are not to report for work if they have ‘oily skin’, ‘bad breath’ or ‘garish makeup’, along with suggestions that they manicure their fingernails, shave their legs and wear formal dresses.

Dress codes and an appropriate appearance are essential for ensuring the desired image of a hotel is projected, but the detail required by the Dorchester shows an objectification of these women which can be considered a form of discrimination as it reflects an assumption of what femininity should be rather than an individual’s personal freedom.

The dress codes outlined by the list can also be considered impractical to perform certain tasks, such as hindering a female waitress’s ability to move easily.

There is also concern that expectations such as removal of hair could encroach on the religious freedom of expression of some workers. Worker rights against such discrimination is protected under the 2010 Equality Act, which defends employee ‘protected characteristics’, including age, religion, sexuality, disability and gender.

Requirements like manicures are also unfair, as the expense of such beauty treatment is expected to be shouldered by workers. A rule like this should at the very least be supported by financial support from the employer; especially as workers in the hospitality industry often struggle financially.

Many workers from certain ethnic background may also be unable to follow the rules due to their natural skin and hair types being unsuitable for such modifications. It does seem that the Dorchester’s rules require women to conform to a specific westernised idea of femininity.

The Dorchester’s list of rules has already been criticised by many professionals. Chief executive of the Fawcett Society, Sam Smethers, believes ‘employers should concentrate on what enables people to do a good job and what drives productivity’ rather than their looks.

In an anonymous interview with the Daily Mail, a female Dorchester worker stated the treatment was ‘like something out of the dark ages and downright offensive. It’s not as though you choose to have oily skin, and a lot of women, especially teenagers, cannot help it […] The women are all pretty livid but worry that if they complain or rebel they’ll be sacked on the spot.”

It also cannot be overlooked that these new rules focus solely on female employees rather than male. A new dress code or grooming policy should also apply to men wherever such an equivalent is possible. However, no requirements exist for men other than the standard practice of maintaining a level of presentation that supports the existing professionalism of the hotel industry.

Roland Fasel, the Dorchester’s general manager, has defended the new rules as an effort to ‘uphold world-leading hospitality standards, including grooming, in line with many other brands.’