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http://www.abc.net.au/am/s792207.htm

Legal challenge to collar and tie code

AM - Tuesday, February 25, 2003 8:27

LINDA MOTTRAM: A collar and tie has been required dress in the office for many men for many years, a standard enforced either through formal rules or unwritten policy.

But a British public servant says he's not going to take it any more and he's launched a sexual discrimination claim over the dress code, in a case that's attracting interest from employers across the world.

Finance correspondent Stephen Long reports.

STEPHEN LONG: Women were the first to rail against rigid dress codes that said, "no trousers, please ladies," but men have been slow to challenge the ties and collars that bind. It's been left to a humble civil servant in England's industrial heartland to challenge the formal dress code for men.

Stefan Stern is an expert commentator on work and management in the UK, and he's been following the case.

STEFAN STERN: It's a job centre in Manchester in the north-west of England, a guy called Matthew Thompson, who under equality rules wants to complain about being forced to wear a collar and tie to work when female colleagues are allowed to arrive quite casually, quite informally dressed.

STEPHEN LONG: Matthew Thompson looked at his women colleagues in plunging necklines, short sleeves and no sleeves and he thought there's a double standard applying here.

Backed by the Public and Commercial Services Union, he's challenging the collar-and-tie rule on the grounds of sexual discrimination and Mr Thompson doubts many of his clients would be too fussed if he shed his tie - he doles out unemployment benefit cheques for a living.

Stefan Stern believes the problem is public sector managers who have taken on board Tony Blair's call to "modernise" and got it all wrong.

STEFAN STERN: Just at the moment the public sector is going through very big changes here in the UK and managers are under a lot of pressure to bring in so-called more business like behaviour, to try and strive for efficiency and offer value for money for taxpayers.

Now I think, perhaps rather misguidedly, management think that wearing ties and collars somehow makes public sector officials look more like private sector officials who work in banks or building societies and they think that the dress will somehow produce a different sort of behaviour.

In fact, they're getting a bit confused because in the private sector a wide range of approaches are adopted as far as dress is concerned and people sometimes dress quite informally, quite casually at work in order to be more relaxed, creative and express their individuality.

STEPHEN LONG: Dress codes have been a vexed area for discrimination law and this case is being followed by HR managers across the world.

So, could it lead to a global revolt against the Windsor knot and the starched collar?

Stefan Stern believes it's possible.

STEFAN STERN: Yes it could. I think people watch these things very carefully. I mean you there in Australia are taking note of this story up here in the UK and that's the way it works nowadays. The workers of the world are perhaps uniting in that sense at least.

LINDA MOTTRAM: Management commentator Stefan Stern, speaking from London to our finance correspondent Stephen Long, who is not wearing a tie.