Select committee: Women and Equalities Committee
2nd Special Report - High heels and workplace dress codes: Government Response to the First Joint Report of the Petitions Committee and the Women and Equalities Committee of Session 2016–17
Published 21 April 2017
Women and Equalities Committee High heels and workplace dress codes inquiry Report on parliament.uk ↗
At a glance
The government's response
This document responds to 1st Report - High heels and workplace dress codes (older link; source unverified).
This is the government's response, published 21 April 2017.
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The Government "welcomes" the Committees' work and recommendations, says the existing law is adequate, and sets out action on guidance and awareness while declining to change penalties or tribunal powers.
- On awareness, it "welcome[s]" the recommendation for a campaign, with the GEO working with Acas, the EHRC and the HSE to "explore options" for raising further awareness. It is "exploring the scope" to extend this to older students.
- It "aim[s] to publish" new employer guidance on dress codes in "summer 2017", and "will consider" the Committees' list of dress code requirements in developing it.
- On legitimate aims, it "will certainly consider" including the suggested aims as illustrative examples in guidance, but does "not favour a prescriptive approach" in legislation, so that courts and tribunals can consider each case's circumstances.
- On penalties and injunctions, it considers the current guidelines "proportionate and fit for purpose", and thinks injunctions by employment tribunals would be "disproportionate".
What the committee recommended
This is a government response document, so it has no recommendations of its own.