To ask help wording a dress code policy for our office?

[OvertiredandConfused]

I am in despair of the dress code at work and want to change it so that it gives a reasonable idea of expectations but isn't a ridiculous list of dos and don'ts! We're all intelligent adults for goodness sake!

The aim is to have what I would call a smart casual / business casual environment. So that would allow for tailored jeans with a shirt or jacket and smart shoes, for example. Your favourite tour t-shirt, ripped jeans and trainers is not ok.

We currently have what reads like a very prescriptive dress code and yet half the staff still look scruffy even thought they technically follow the guidelines whilst the other half are irritated that the jeans example above is not allowed.

I was thinking of a statement along the lines of "we expect employees to present themselves in clean and smart attire that is appropriate for their role and an office environment." However, I think that is a little too open to personal interpretation.

Has anyone got any useful suggestions, or great policies that they're willing to share?

Why not just write pretty much what you did in your OP:

Smart casual/ business casual dresscode. Tailored jeans with a shirt or jacket and smart shoes would be acceptable. A tour t-shirt, ripped jeans and trainers are not ok.

There was a massive hoo-ha about dress codes in the company I work for. This was their answer...

public.hpnn.hp.com/Articles/2015/July/Dress-code-what-dress-code.aspx

I can't help much as ours is fairly open to interpretation - smart business or smart casual depending on what work you are doing on that given day
However we do add an addendum stating if you are unsure what this means to discuss with your line manager
I feel this helps somewhat, and as a manager I will direct people who are not dressing appropriately - explaining why if needed and giving examples
If this was not resolved to my satisfaction it would be discussed during supervision and documented at appraisals

Oops sorry..
public.hpnn.hp.com/Articles/2015/July/Dress-code-what-dress-code.aspx

My work code is similar to yours but has a table underneath with examples (headings are item/acceptable/not acceptable).

Eg trousers . Acceptable is tailored trousers, chinos, black/dark blue jeans without embellishment or distressing. Not acceptable is shorts, distressed/torn/overly embellished trousers/blue jeans.

Tops. Acceptable is shirts/blouses with a long or short sleeve, polo shirts with a discrete logo, tops/jumpers with a long or short sleeve all should be opaque. Not acceptable are tee shirts, any tops with large slogans/logos and sleeveless or sheer tops.

It then says if we are in doubt we should check and if we turn up in an unapproved item we will be asked to change it on our own time.

Itstheyearzero, I want to work for HP now.

We have a dress code.
Basically wear some.
That's it.
People even win Nobel prizes and shit.

My work is a fairly standard office environment. Very rarely client facing (maybe one or two meetings every 6 months).

We just have a kind of list that tells you what you can and can't wear.

So things like "smart separates" (whatever that means), suits, shirts, naice tops/polo shirts, tailored trousers/shorts, skirts longer than mid-thigh are all ok. Denim, ripped clothes, crop tops, trainers and leggings are not (though I wore leggings and dresses/tunics while pregnant and nobody said anything, but nothing else bloody fit me anyway).

Where DH works they had a casual dress code and just had the "nothing you'd wear to the gym or beach" rule (though I think even that was flouted!).

Can someone tell me wtf is up with dress down Fridays? If I can do my job wearing jeans/yoga pants/a slanket on a Friday why can't I also do it wearing jeans/yoga pants/a slanket on a Tuesday?

I hate dress down Fridays. I work in an office where jeans are not permitted and men wear suits, shirts and ties. We have dress down Fridays for charity and I loathe them. I never participate.

I asked one of my employees who usually does dress down why he was wearing a suit? Was he meeting a client ? No , he said, he had something which had to be completed that day and he always works better in a suit He's not the only person who has said this.

We don't have a dress code. No one cares what you are wearing unless it is really way out.

we provide work tunics and employees are expected to wear black smart trousers & shoes and dark socks with it

in the end we had to specify this meant no jeans, leggings or combats and no trainers or sandals flip flops

if people don't follow a loose dress code of smart then you have to get prescriptive

Occasionally I have to wear festal dress with a doctor's bonnet digging it like it was 1690. I rather like that.

molyholy

At my last job, we had a code which said that you should be dressed in a way that meant you could be asked to attend a client meeting at short notice without causing embarrassment to a more conservative colleague.

The dress code at my old workplace stated smart casual for men was 'chinos, deck shoes and a polo top'.

The 80s calls, they want their dress code back.

I suit the red, you see

My employers solved this by sending round an HR dragon to occasionally raise an eyebrow and say "neon orange nails? I think perhaps not again."

A man of my acquaintance was so incensed by his work reneging on their decision to allow black denim and insisting on suits that he replaced his flattering black 501s with the cheapest nastiest machine washable suit he could find, two inches too short. Not the most adult of responses I grant you, but some people really hate suits.

inthebox, I get that, but why do places that require professionalism mon-thu not require it on a Friday too?

No idea. I assume it's some sort of misguided attempt at bonding. In my office you pay a £1 each time for the privilege which goes to our charity of the year.

Wow BoffinMum! I'm not seeing any plaid though...

Sadly no plaid in academical dress.

Have a think about what actually matters, OP. No one has ever died in the workplace because they saw a colleague's toes on a hot day, and armpits are not illegal.
It might be reasonable to insist on certain restrictions for safety reasons (if working with machinery, no dangly jewellery and tie back long hair/no rings or chipped nail varnish if you are handling food...) but otherwise, as PP said, either provide staff with a uniform (and FFS make it weather-appropriate and comfortable) or stop fussing at them.

Looking smart may not be life or death, but in a client-facing role where suits are expected it does make a difference.

When I worked for an accountancy practice the rule was suits for the men and skirts and jackets for the women
which was fine

except that there are some people - including partners in the firm - who are incapable of tucking in a shirt, straightening a tie or having matching shoe laces
so "suit" and "smart" are not always the same

and yet other people can look immaculately turned out in jeans and a sweatshirt

my rule is
look like you are worth what the client is paying for your time

This really depends on your job so much. I had to tell one member of staff to dress less smartly.

Thank flip we don't have a dress code - customers know what to expect, our CEO wears jeans.