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How to tailor a dress code that
fits your company
By Jay
MacDonald • Bankrate.com
 Considering
adopting or updating a dress code for your company? Here's how to
make it work for your company and your employees:
- Clearly state what is unacceptable. Such
things as torn apparel, jeans, slogans or pictures on T-shirts,
tight-fitting clothes, low-slung pants and underwear are items
you may want to address.
- Get specific. Your employees will have varying
interpretations of vague words such as "casual," "proper," "appropriate"
and "well-groomed." Clearly state what you expect.
- Keep safety in mind. Depending on the industry,
dress and grooming can be an on-the-job hazard. Take safety into
account when addressing hair, jewelry, piercings, hats or caps,
footwear, and tight or loose-fitting clothing.
- Give special attention to any exceptions you
want to create. If certain parts of the code apply only to
certain groups, explain who and why. They must be applied equitably
-- based on Title VII, state or union guidelines -- or your standards
will not stand up in court.
- To whom do these standards apply? You may
have separate rules for your sales force and your backroom production
line, for example, as long as they are enforced equally.
- Consider employee morale. Make certain the
dress policy doesn't undermine employee morale or open the door
to sexual harassment.
- If you're establishing a casual day or business
casual standard, make sure to present it as a privilege, not
an employee right. You may want to phase it in on a trial basis
and evaluate it after a specified period.
- Explain your policy. It's important that
employees understand the business reason for your dress code.
- Give everyone plenty of advance notice.
They may need time to adapt their wardrobe to the new rules, even
if they're dressing down.
Jay MacDonald is a contributing editor
based in Mississippi
-- Updated:
July 29, 2003
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