To think that “professional” standards shouldn’t apply during periods of extreme weather?

As a female, I find it completely unfair for men that women can wear skirts of any length with a sleeveless top yet men are often forced to wear trousers and at minimum some sort of short sleeve top/short. I think men should be permitted to wear knee length shorts when the weather is hot.

DP has to deliver training courses and this week has been doing so with literal sweat patches down his legs - old building so not air conditioned and seriously hot. He’s felt not just uncomfortable with the heat but has also felt self conscious in his particularly sweaty appearance to his students

He did tackle his boss about it this week and she stated formal office attire only yet she herself arrived into work wearing loose linen trousers and a vest top with sandals. Just not fair

I think the major problem here is the office itself, wearing shorts instead of a cotton dress will make absolutely no difference (the men should be allowed to wear smart shorts), the environment is not suitable for working in that sort of heat.

I would get on to

1. The Union
2. HR
3. Health & Safety team

Your employers have a duty of care, please ask to go home /go and work from home if you feel unwell

If the office makes you feel sick you should see a doctor and get a note to wfh until the heat decreases. Employers have to provide safe working environments.

Yeah, that's it, giving people the choice and treating them like adults!

If op's organisation is going to fall apart because someone wears shorts and a t shirt I would question the leadership

Snap! I think quite a few will come in for the air conditioning but it's up to them.

Likewise. I am in charge of a team of lawyers and I have said they can all work from home. But any who do want to go into the office can absolutely wear whatever makes them feel comfortable (we do have Aircon in the office at least)

Maybe her employer needs to adapt their thinking and make sure the building is a sensible temperature

Why on earth are you employers not letting you work from home ?
They have a duty of care to their staff

I'm on my way in now on public transport and I'm wearing shorts and a t shirt and a hat. I have linen trousers and a light blouse to change into when I get to the office. Anything I wear to travel in will be gross by the time I get to the office having been on the tube!

Edited to add I'm in charge of a large team of lawyers and they can all wear whatever they want. I don't mind at all.

As usual, people on MN love to lick the boot!

OP I’m self employed and work from home, I’ve been in pants and a bra top all week- no way would I want actual clothes on my skin. YANBU.

YANBU.

They need to get a grip. I had to grapple with similar issues a few years ago with a manager in HR, who should have known better, and I metaphorically ended up giving her a bloody nose in the process. I’ll post separately about that.

My advice from both an HR and H&S background.

Take the steps you feel will enable you to reduce the impact of heat stress symptoms when it comes to clothing. If you get any nonsense, tell them you’re following guidance from the HSE - https://www.hse.gov.uk/temperature/employer/how-you-keep-comfortable.htm I strongly recommend you read that page.

Take more comfort breaks. Again featured in the HSE guidance - “Take regular breaks to cool down in hot conditions.”

PP who mentioned the Health & Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 was right to. There’s a broad duty for employees under it to take reasonable care for the health and safety of your own self. Heat stress presents risks. All you’re doing is your own part in managing them.

The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations require employers to provide a reasonable indoor temperature in the workplace. You’ll get idiot managers being uppity about this - “how can we control the weather” - but there are obvious things they can do when workplace temperatures are uncomfortable for workers. It is required under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations too.

The HSE’s guidance on what employers should be doing when staff report uncomfortable working temperatures is to assess the risks, talk to staff and agree control measures. Lo and behold a bullet point within the HSE guidance:

• relaxing formal dress codes to allow fewer or more layers of clothing

It’s also notable the first thing suggested in the HSE guidance about what workers can do is to add or remove layers of clothing. Wearing clothing that is more appropriate to the temperature is keeping in with the spirit of that.

Putting it bluntly, what you’re proposing to do OP is basic common sense. it’s also backed up by legal requirements and guidance from the regulator of H&S in the UK. There are obvious reasons why they’ve put this guidance out there.

Here’s a link from HSE about heat stress at work - https://www.hse.gov.uk/temperature/employer/heat-stress.htm Isn’r it telling the example of “ a typical heat stress situation” they give is someone who has to wear protective clothing but is working in hot and humid conditions.
Particular emphasis on the bullet points under that section:

• sweating is restricted by clothing and humidity…
• the body reacts by producing more sweat, which may cause dehydration

For the benefit of obtuse managers, you don’t have to be wearing protective clothing to encounter the same issues.

If you wanted to try and get a step ahead of these berks of managers, email your manager and CC the berks in. Report the temperatures recorded in the office and symptoms you’ve all experienced; ask for details about the revised controls in place on account of the extreme weather conditions and the unreasonably high temperature in the workplace. There’s even a handy heat stress checklist they can work through https://www.hse.gov.uk/temperature/assets/docs/heat-stress-checklist.pdf

OP you need a cotton maxi dress, a decent airflow fan, a neck fan and some cool towels for the back of your neck. Also maybe a petcool gel mat to sit on.

But that's my point, this is becoming more common. If you don't currently own suitably professional clothing, you need to invest some time into finding a couple of outfits you can afford, that fit the bill, and you might wear elsewhere as well. Adapt your thinking, heatwaves are here to stay.

It’s discriminatory. You can challenge it with HR.

clothes are not designated by sex.

As hotter weather becomes increasingly common, we all need to adapt our habits and attire. OP, you need to invest in a few things you can wear to work in hot weather and your office needs to get you some AC.

YANBU at all. I am so glad i have an employer who doesn’t make rules for the sake of having rules. If you’re not seeing customers/service users face to face you should be able to wfh too.

What century do you work in that stipulates dresses to mid calf???