Office Temp Forced To Wear High Heels Fights Back

There was controversy this month when a London office temp was sent home from work when she refused to wear heigh heels in the office. Nicola Thorpe, 27, was told by her bosses at finance business, PwC, that she must wear shoes with a heel measuring 2-4 inches, but she refused and stated that male employees were not expected to do the same. She was subsequently sent home without pay from the central London office and told to buy a pair of heels before returning to work.

Ms Thorpe felt that she would experience discomfort spending a working day in heels and instead requested to wear the kind of flat shoes that she was accustomed to when employed at other office based roles.

Speaking to BBC Radio, Ms Thorpe explained: ‘if you can give me a reason as to why wearing flats would impair me to do my job today, then fair enough’, but they couldn’t […] I was expected to do a nine-hour shift on my feet escorting clients to meeting rooms. I said ‘I just won’t be able to do that in heels”.

After Ms Thorpe posted details of her experience online she soon found many other women had faced a similar situation in the workplace. This kind of discrimination is too common for working women who often do not speak out about the circumstance due to fear of being seen as awkward in the eyes of their colleagues in what is usually a male dominated environment. Ms Thorpe certainly believes this is indeed part of the problem: “Aside from the debilitating factor, it’s the sexism issue. I think companies shouldn’t be forcing that on their female employees.”

Her views are supported by general secretary of the TUC, Frances O’Grady, who feels the situation at PwC “reeks of sexism”. High heels should be a choice, not a requirement.”

Ms Thorpe has now set up an online petition to abolish high heel dress codes for women in the workplace. She has already gathered over 10,000 signatures. Speaking of her experience she says: “I was a bit scared about speaking up about it in case there was a negative backlash,” she said. “But I realised I needed to put a voice to this as it is a much bigger issue.”

Simon Pratt, the managing director of Portico; the firm that runs PwC, has defended the policy by stating that is it common practice within the service sector to have appearance guidelines for staff in order to “positively represent a client’s brand and image”, and that Ms Thorp “signed the appearance guidelines” upon employment with them without fuss. However, in light of these recent events the company will be reconsidering their footwear expectations and reviewing its guidelines.

The question that many observers have asked in regards to this case is whether requiring women to wear heels at work is is actually legal. Existing UK legislation states that employers have the power to dismiss employees should they not abide by “reasonable” dress codes, just as long as there has been adequate time for the employee to make necessary arrangements for doing so. Employers can also decide internally what they consider to be appropriate attire for men and women as long as an “equivalent level of smartness” exists between genders.

Another important question is where does this leave a woman legally? Can she sue her employers? A lawsuit is easier if it can be shown that women are expected to wear heels for reasons relating to preconceived notions of femininity. Proving this is unnecessary in regards to the need to preserve brand image is paramount.

However, there are health risks involved in women wearing high heels at work that can also lead to legal action. Constant wearing of heels is not only uncomfortable but can lead to conditions such as arthritis and nerve damage.

Emma Supple, a podiatrist at the College of Podiatry, is an advocate for ending mandatory heels for women at work for health reasons. In 2009 she spoke of this issue at the House of Commons, and claimed her statement “really opened some eyes to the issue”. Her work eventually led to a 2009 TUC motion that women shouldn’t be forced to wear heels, but this has not prevented the request for doing so in regards to company image from continuing.

The health and comfort of an employee should always outweigh any notion of company image. This is reflected in Ms Thorpe’s view that expectations of female professional dress codes need updating: “I don’t hold anything against the company necessarily because they are acting within their rights as employers to have a formal dress code [but] women can be smart and formal and wear flat shoes”