My manager has banned all vests, skirts and shorts

I love your name!!!

There’s no legal max temperature in UK offices I do t think, but you can ask for a risk assessment if it is unbearably hot - that’s your right. I believe statutory guidance also says that management should allow a relaxed dress code where temperatures are uncomfortablyhot

So: she has just made a lot of work for herself if you make an official complaint about the heat. If you could faint first, it would be useful

If it's genuinely hotter by 10 degrees than outside right now you need to speak to HR.
You need an air conditioner for your office urgently.

And until then this banning of perfectly reasonable hot weather appropriate clothing is not going to happen. It could well be too hot in there to legally make people work at all!?

Absolutely outrageous. And either you wear uniform or not. Office wear can include skirts and smart shorts and vests in summer.

What's so offensive about someone's upper arm or knees/calves? Do you work in Saudi Arabia? Even they get air conditioning.

Are there religious implications around this request?

I work in retail, so a uniform, company polo shirt and black jeans, Trainers or steel toe caps. We survive. No the shop is not air con. It's open door, open windows.

I haven't worked in an office for about a decade now but before then I had 20 years of some very uncomfortable offices. Even though we were not usually client facing, we were expected to be dressed to work. It was very noticeable that on dress down Friday's very little work got done. Attitudes were poor as though people had already switched off for the weekend. One Friday due to a particular event we were told to dress as we would Monday to Friday. Afterwards it was noted how much more work got achieved that day. Soon after that specific guidelines were given as to what was acceptable on Friday's ie for men chinos and collared polo shirt was acceptable. For women shoulders should be covered and no shorts. Tops should either be collared or clearly smart casual. Actually no one objected as they could tell things had gone too far.

That's not a vest though. That's a sleeveless top/blouse.

Exactly what I’m wearing today, it’s way cooler than a vest top and shorts.

Well most health boards have a dress code, don’t they? What does yours say?

I genuinely can't fathom the amount of people on this thread who seem to be outraged at seeing bare shoulders/armpits/knees in the summer.

I mean, I'm not suggesting people go in batty riders and bikini tops to the office, but where I work, men and woman are all able to wear shorts/skirts/vests if they want to.

No one is shocked. Wouldn't even occur to me to have an opinion. It's not Victorian Britain, and we're all perfectly professional.

Exactly, I've worn stuff like that for work since the late 1990s and even in a law or accountancy firm and back when people were wearing suits all the time it passed muster.

Today I'm wearing a vest but with a kimono shirt, white cotton midi skirt and smart sandals. It's 34C at the moment in London and even if our dress code wasn't already relaxed I'd expect a relaxation where possible in these conditions.

I really can't see the problem with wide straps and knee length skirts. Your manager is a loon.

Im glad I work for a small company with no dress code - everyone here, men and women are wearing shorts, and tshirt/polo shirt, today. I also wear crocs or flip flops sometimes.
Its not an office though

If it's "unbearably hot" can you get the temperature taken? I am sure that there are rules about workplace temperatures. Perhaps everyone should work from home until tne temperature reduces - or they rethink the dress code.

The biggest issue for me is the temperature you are all working in, while your manager has an air conditioned office. I would be taking this higher in itself.

On work clothes, I think most people have an idea of what is acceptable. In this weather I'm wearing a short sleeved blouse and loose ankle grazing linen trousers. Sometimes I wear a midaxi skirt, so it hits around mid shin. I wouldn't wear a vest top at work, or a skirt above the knee generally speaking.

Your manager has clearly been burnt before by trying to be reasonable and had some pisstaker swan in wearing a boob tube and nike pro shorts so they’ve gone draconian this time.
FWIW our dress code is “heads, shoulders, knees and toes” - only the first one should be uncovered at work regardless of sex. Easy to remember and impossible to query really.

So all the women will be swooshing around in maxi skirts or dresses? 😂
Yeah, that'd be a no from me!

Can you get facilities to come and do a room temp audit on health and safety grounds? She's being ridiculous.

Ok, silly question that I’m now genuinely pondering : does wearing vest and shorts feel cooler than a thin cotton frock?!

I tend to wear thin loose dresses in the heat, so as not to get too much skin exposure ( mum had skin cancer) so it hadn’t occurred to me that exposing skin would be physically cooler.

Well she sounds insane tbh. Mid calf would be less “appropriate”?

Something that is basically a “t shirt with the sleeves cut off” is not inappropriate for workwear.

I saw my GP last week and she was wearing something similar to this. The idea that it’s inappropriate is weird. It’s totally fine.

I've always thought it odd that people think vests are suitabke for work. I've never worked anywhere anyone thought shorts were.

I'd guess there's been some pushing of boudaries, and the new policy is a response to that.