{"id":11243,"date":"2017-01-25T16:31:35","date_gmt":"2017-01-25T16:31:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=11243"},"modified":"2017-01-25T16:31:35","modified_gmt":"2017-01-25T16:31:35","slug":"high-heel-probe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=11243","title":{"rendered":"High heel ‘probe’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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After being sent home for not wearing high heels on the first day of her new job at accountancy firm PwC, Nicola Thorp started a petition which in days garnered more than 150,000 signatures, as UniteLIVE reported last year.<\/a><\/p>\n

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The petition, which called on the government to ban employers from forcing employees to wear high heels, sparked a parliamentary investigation, the details of which were published today (January 25) in a new report<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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The Petitions and Women and Equalities Committees called for evidence from the public to find out whether Thorp\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s experience was in fact a widespread one.<\/p>\n

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Evidence<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The inquiry set up a web forum and received an astounding 730 responses<\/a> in one week alone. The Committee also partnered with Mumsnet, which hosted a thread<\/a> in which women were invited to share their experiences.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe heard from hundreds of women who told us about the pain and long-term damage caused by wearing high heels for long periods in the workplace, as well as from women who had been required to dye their hair blonde, to wear revealing outfits and to constantly reapply make-up,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 the report read.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe government has said that the existing law is clear, and that the dress code that prompted this petition is already unlawful,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 it added. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bNevertheless, discriminatory dress codes remain widespread.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt is therefore clear that the existing law is not yet fully effective in protecting employees from discrimination at work. We call on the government to review this area of the law and to ask Parliament to change it, if necessary, to make it more effective.”<\/p>\n

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The health risks of wearing high heels on a long-term basis are well-documented and were highlighted in the report.<\/p>\n

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The College of Podiatry provided written evidence, noting that there is a \u00e2\u20ac\u015bstrong body of clinical evidence that significantly indicates the medical and disabling effects of wearing a high heel shoe over a prolonged amount of time.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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High heel health risks<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

A review of scientific literature in the report found that long-term high heel use can cause long-term changes to gait, which is linked to knee, hip and spine problems and osteoarthritis; stress fractures in foot bones from sustained body weight on the ball of the foot; bunions; blisters and skin lesions among other health problems.<\/p>\n

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Although the government has argued that what happened to Thorp was already illegal anyway, the report said that the evidence they gathered made it clear that existing law was not clear enough, nor has it properly been enforced.<\/p>\n

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As the law stands now, employers are allowed to compel their employees to dress in a certain way, as long as their requirements are deemed \u00e2\u20ac\u015breasonable\u00e2\u20ac\u0165. Bosses can even have different dress requirements for men and women, as long as they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re of an equivalent standard.<\/p>\n

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For example, requiring men to wear a collar and tie to work would not be considered discriminatory towards men as long as women must dress to an equivalently smart level.<\/p>\n

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On the other hand, if women are, say, required to heels for the express purpose of appearing sexy, they have grounds for a discrimination case.<\/p>\n

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Stronger laws call<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

TUC general secretary Frances O\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Grady argued that access to justice was a key issue in discriminatory workplace dress codes.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bFar too many employers are still stuck in the past when it comes to dress codes,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt is unacceptable that in 2017 bosses are still forcing women to wear painful, inappropriate shoes and uniforms.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWearing high heels on a regular basis can cause foot, knee and back problems. High heels and make-up should be a choice, not a condition of the job.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bBut with employment tribunals costing up to \u00c2\u01411,200 \u00e2\u20ac\u201c even if you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re on the minimum wage \u00e2\u20ac\u201c many women can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t afford to challenge sexist policies,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 O\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Grady added. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bIf ministers are serious about enforcing equality legislation then they should scrap tribunal fees immediately.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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Unite national officer for equalities Siobhan Endean said that Unite has long been in workplaces campaigning against unfair work uniform policies.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bOur members want to have uniforms that are appropriate for the job; keep us safe; that can be adapted if we become pregnant; that fit and are designed for women\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s body shapes; and reflect our age, diversity and religion,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bOur members should be given choice in whether to wear trousers or high heels.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bCorporate image should never be put above our dignity and safety at work or be tainted by sex discrimination from the 1970s,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she added.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bOur safety needs are paramount \u00e2\u20ac\u201c personal protective equipment should be gender sensitive and the correct size.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe welcome this parliamentary report and urge the government to consider the shocking evidence women have given regarding discriminatory dress codes,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Endean went on to say. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe laws in place are not enough and we agree with the TUC that employment tribunal fees are obstructing access to justice on this issue for far too many women \u00e2\u20ac\u201c they must be scrapped now.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bUntil fees are scrapped and laws on discriminatory dress codes are made stronger, the answer must lie also with employers sitting down with unions and agreeing better uniform policies.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After being sent home for not wearing high heels on the first day of her new job at accountancy firm PwC, Nicola Thorp started a petition which in days garnered more than 150,000 signatures, as UniteLIVE reported last year.   The petition, which called on the government to ban employers from forcing employees to wear […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8763,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17],"tags":[379,209],"wps_subtitle":"Report: discriminatory dress codes widespread","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11243"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11243"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11243\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11245,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11243\/revisions\/11245"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8763"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11243"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11243"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11243"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}