News

January 29, 2010

Case law: asking a male worker to get a haircut is not sex discrimination

Employers will welcome a recent court decision that clarifies sex discrimination rules.

In this case, a male trainee police officer, with shoulder-length hair, was told by his employer to get his hair cut. He was threatened with disciplinary action if he did not comply, so he did. It was agreed that a female recruit with similar-length hair would not, in those circumstances, have been required to have her hair cut.

The employee brought a complaint of sex discrimination, claiming compensation for less favourable treatment. The employment tribunal found that the employer's dress code policy was 'gender neutral', which was permitted so long as (1) it was fair for men and women and (2) it fitted with the conventions of society and the needs of that profession.

The employee's appeal to the Employment Appeal Tribunal was dismissed, on the basis that a female comparator who failed to comply with a gender-neutral dress code would have been treated in the same way as the claimant, ie she would have been required to comply with the code (as it affected her) in the same way that the claimant was required to comply with the code (as it affected him). As a result, the employee had not been treated less favourably, and his claim for sex discrimination failed.

Operative date

• Immediate