My manager has banned all vests, skirts and shorts

@itsjustthepricewepay - have you managed to get a look at your trust’s uniform policy? Maybe that will help you?

Heatwaves here don’t last long. Either stick to the dress code or find another job.

oh come on, you have to share now!!

im at home, there's a corner shop along the road, it has been like a Nike Advert all day. what little the teens are wearing is Nike Pro 😂

thankfully not many dogs being walked since about 9am, hopefully enjoying their doggy paddling pools in the shade!

Quite a lot of people have really unpleasant armpits in this weather, which makes life pretty grim for those stuck next to them at work for 8 hours a day. You can't go around doing a sniff test to say which colleagues are suitably well-groomed to be allowed bare armpits so I guess it's easier to say that everyone has to cover-up and say its about projecting a professional image.

I know! Do they faint at the sight of an ankle?!

I'm remembering 1985 and chancing it at my City workplace (suits, skirt suits no trouser suits for women) by wearing a floral cotton dress on a really hot day.

As chance would have it, I was sent to our most senior partner in that building with something to sign off. I though I'd be getting my P45.

'Oh Maggie!', he cried, 'You look like the breath of Spring! '

I agree - I am one of those women. I can’t wear lots of things without showing some cleavage, so in this weather would opt for shoulders out in some sort of thick strap vest, but with a higher neckline. I can’t do anything about the actual shape of them, but I can hide the boobs themselves.

I can accept that that’s because breasts can be distracting, but who has ever been sexually attracted to or distracted by a shoulder or armpit I am unsure.

It is over the safe temperature. Otherwise tell her if you're going by the book, you shouldn't be working in this heat
In the UK, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) recommends that the minimum safe working temperature in an office should be at least 16°C (or 13°C if the work involves rigorous physical effort). However, for most office environments, a comfortable and safe temperature range is generally considered to be between 16°C and 24°C.
The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 also state that employers must ensure the temperature in all workplaces inside buildings is "" during working hours. While there is no legal reasonablemaximum temperature, employers are expected to take action if the temperature becomes uncomfortably high.

It's a heatwave, I would argue that your temperatures don't meet the legal definition of "reasonable" so would be asking, minimally, for concessions in clothing, or to be sent home.

Do you have a Union?

Would your colleagues consider a collective grievance?

I wfh now but when I worked in offices they were absolutely roasting in the summer and freezing in winter (only one place was ok which had air con).
I was never allowed to wear shorts but I’d wear loose thin trousers - cropped or full length - or a dress (could bare knees though). Never a fan of a skirt. In terms of tops - sleeveless fine but not vest tops.
i think that’s sensible enough.

Cheer up, getting cooler from tomorrow!
When I was the staff representative on the school's governing body I was asked by the men to talk with the male Head about taking their ties off during weather such as we're having now and he totally refused to allow it. When I pointed out the standard of dress of some of the female teachers, at all times not just in the heat, he more or less said he would be attacked by the feminist mafia in the school if he tries to set standards for the women!

My point was that some items of clothing are work appropriate, and some are work appropriate in the context of an outfit. Obviously a knee length pencil skirt first in the first category. It is absolutely plain that OP's colleagues are not wearing smart pencil skirts.

I actually think this is a wind up. I suspect OP is trying to goad someone into commenting on body types.

Neither of those are a skirt though…

If you’re NHS surely you are a trade union member? They should be able to dig out the official trust policy.

Okay, but what if she'd worn the top with nude leggings, or bum scrunch gym shorts? There is nuance here. Most people naturally understand workplace expectations.

You wouldn't expect an animal to endure 35c. Yet the Ops workplace is just that temperature. In Spain max office temperature is 27c.

A friend worked in a commercial laundry years ago. When the staff fainted they were carried outside to recover. She took a picture of the bodies lying in the shade to prove it.

Heaven forbid someone could possibly get a glimpse of........shock horror.......ARMPITS..........everyone flee

I personally think that wide legged trousers (and there are lots in the shops this year) and a long sleeved floaty top cover a multitude of sins and are very easy to work in.

People here would be horrified by what a male student is wearing outside my office atm 😂

I don't want to see anyone's breasts either, though I completely understand that some women's morphology is much harder to cover elegantly than others and we need to be realistic.

I'm not saying they wear boob tubes because of the weather, its just because there is no dress code and people wear what they like (as it should be, imo)

I'm really lucky to work in a building with aircon, the majority of campus doesn't have it. Some rooms on campus get to ridiculous heat at this time of year, but people can work from home if they want to

Always worth reading the policy when you work in the NHS with some of the toshy ways management can interpret it (or make shit up)