Political badges should be banned from NHS uniforms

hairstyle choices need to be appropriate to the work. Staff may be asked to remove or cover piercings, again depending on how appropriate they are. Tatts may not be irrelevant to work. The images or words may be inappropriate or the location of the tatts may give a problem....thinking of the effect of a heavily inked face on some patients with dementia. Certain piercings may also put the staff member at risk from patients with dementia.

Then you have to ban everything identifying, religious symbols, tattoos,anything identifying you as LBGTQ, anything identifying you as disabled, no affliation to a union or association.
You basically want them to be blank, AI will probably bring your vision to fruition- then we can all be equally unhappy and dissatisfied.
It is absolutely not the same as being a teacher- there was no suggestion the NHS worker mentioned by the OP had expressed their views verbally, or was likely to do so- so this part of your argument is irrelevant.

Agreed, wholly inappropriate. The only badges permitted in our trust are ID badges, 'hello my name is...' badges and badges from nursing unions/professional regulatory bodies etc.

Well, no.

Tattoos/piercing/hairstyles that have no bearing on work being done, no problem, but there are plenty of situations where you might be asked to tie hair back or take out piercings if they're going to interfere with your ability to do the job. Same with political signalling.

Yes their views are irrelevant to their work, so are many other things people have and are not criticised for- hairstyle choices, tattoos, piercings earrings, they are part of who we are and remain part of who we are when we are at work-I find tattoes unsettling but I would dream of expecting thdem to be completely covered because of my feelings- you have to give people the space to express themselves, and no group, political colouration or religion has dibs on closing that down.

I'd have no problem with that.

You’ve engaged plenty. You just haven’t said anything you stick by.

Yet you don’t respect the feelings of others.

You were barely ‘in’. No position you would stick by.

Freedom of expression, but then only if the team agreed.

Worried about lynching and burnings, but then about scaremongering.

A rule that management should decide, without patients, but then not ‘your’ rule.

Merely an observer of the debate swirling around you.

I’m pleased to see that 95% of people on this thread think that YANBU @Ihatetomatoes & that political badges should be banned from NHS uniforms.

The NHS is supposed to be welcoming to all not a place to showcase your affiliations to certain groups.

I thought that specious and vexatious imaginary instances did not deserve engagement

Some posters keep cutting bits out and 'misremembering'

Even if all other views attributed to me will likely be misquoted or misrepresented, I am out

Your entire contribution to this thread is pointless if you don’t have the courage to defend the points you make.

You said it was an infringement of freedom to prevent staff from wearing political badges.

When asked about white power you fell back to the line that it wasn’t your position to decide.

When asked what your view is you said you were making a process point about the rules: that staff collectively should decide what is OK.

Now you won’t defend that. It’s not ‘your rule’.

What, ultimately, are you arguing for here? What position will you stand by?

Reposting

Reposting

Just to be super clear, I don't think @ChipswithMayonnaise actually thinks it would be okay for an NHS worker to wear a White Power badge if the 'people in charge had discussed and consulted about it'.

However I do think they argued themselves into a very awkward corner where they have to justify that position.

This is the post that @ChipswithMayonnaise was replying to.

And their reply was as follows at 11.58

I would assume that the people in charge of the place had discussed and consulted about it. Not my place to control etiquette.

You raised the spectre of lynchings and witch-burnings!

No that's exactly what you said. I'll quote it in full.

Selective misquotation
Absence of nuance
Movement towards smearing

I am out :)

The only education I want from a medical professional is giving me information on any medical issues I have. I don't want to know how they feel about Ukraine, or the plight of the pangolin, or who should rule Kashmir. I have my own opinion on those.

"No I didn't"?
I am not into Punch & Judy either

Earlier in the thread you said this with reference to 'white power'

I would assume that the people in charge of the place had discussed and consulted about it. Not my place to control etiquette.

So where are you going to draw the line?

No, that is not 'my rule'. I respect workplaces and their various teams and assume they have relevant procedures.

What sort of “equity” can there realistically be between on a vulnerable, acutely ill person who is relying on the other person’s expertise to often literally save their life?

And what sort of “education” are we planning to give the ill person? Should that be prioritised at triage in A&E?

Your argument might make sense if the proposal was that patients weren’t allowed to wear political badges to hospital so they don’t make staff uncomfortable.

But it doesn’t work the other way round, because caregiver-patient is pretty much the least equitable relationship there is.