To think you're not a special snowflake if you can't adhere to company policy.

[ScreechingWeasel]

New employee in my department. Policy states no visible tattoos, neat appearance, clothing regulations and sensible hairstyles.

Within a month new employee has coloured her hair pink, had a sleeve tattoo and refuses to stick to uniform policy. She claims she's being discriminated against and should be allowed to express herself. Employer obviously disagrees.

AIBU to think you are not exempt from the rules just because you feel like it? Other people in the office think she should be left alone and are making me feel like an old fussy woman!

I'm not saying she'd have a legal leg to stand on (don't know anything about that tbh) - just that if she's claiming discrimination and the right to 'express herself' she sounded like the confrontational type!

I have pink hair and tattoos

I am self employed now so can wear what I like. I work for very high profile clients and they don't give a shit about how I dress / my hair / tattoos. Just how well I do my job which is very. ;)

I used to work in office environments and I never could stick to boring old company dress / hair codes, got sent home more than once when I was younger

I think in this day and age pink hair and tattoos is hardly out of the ordinary anyway so your employers should chill with their silly rules, it hardly affects peoples ability to do their job

This is going back to the pyjama thing again, isn't it?

I WILL WEAR WHAT I LIKE AND IF YOU DISAGREE THEN IT'S DISCRIMINATION

Yes dear, just don't expect those of us who have standards and do conform to just suck it up. Like the OP says, why can't she now go to work in a onsie? The precedent has been set.

I'd go in tomorrow in your pyjamas OP. If an issue is made of that then cite your colleague's inappropriate dress.

P.S. I worked in the police service when officers with below elbow tattoos were required to wear long sleeves, even in summer. Apparently that has been relaxed. Shame.

"the company is perfectly entitled to pull her up on it and make her wear long sleeves"
As someone with tattoos (who did wear long sleeves when I was interviewed), I initially agreed with this, but then soon disagreed. It would be fair enough if the tatoos concerned were offensive or racist, but deciding that someone forearms are okay for public display, but someone elses are not? What about someone with scared forearms from self-harming, or just a very hairy bloke, or a woman who doesn't shave or bleach, or just someone who is a bit chubby? Who is to decide how far this judgement of forearm acceptability goes?

I understand the uniform requirements (as long as it doesn't mean, for example, that women are forced to wear skimpy skirts and high heels whilst chaps get to wear ordinary shoes and trousers), and the smartness idea, but more often than not these are used to make life difficult for those of us who just don't fit conventional ideas of appearance very well, either by choice (like tattoos), or just cos some of us are fat and hairy and don't mind it!

Does it effect someones ability to do the job, does what you are asking them to do discriminate unfairly, and does it stop them expressing themselves outside the work environment? Requiring someone to have non-pink hair just because you don't like it, or because you think it is 'unprofessional' is unreasonable. Just as I'd defend my right to have a shaved head on the grounds that many men with partial baldness have shaved heads, so why shouldn't I? Unless you want to require all balding men to wear toupees, that is (which might be reasonable if you are a toupee manufacturer/retailer, but not otherwise, frankly!).

Yes dear, just don't expect those of us who have different standards and do conform to just suck it up

Fixed that for you

It's in a police station.

And for what it's worth, I have non visible tattoos and used to sport a mohawk. Now I dress appropriately for my role.

I hate dresscodes in offices personally, for non-customer facing staff (I used to know someone who worked in a call centre and men had to wear a SUIT). But....if there's a dresscode and you're aware of it, you can't really complain.

There's no human right to "expression" or indeed the possession of pink hair or a sleeve tattoo (why are these so popular, presently ?). I'd be inclined to tell her to colour her hair a normal colour, wear a long sleeved top that covers the tattoo, or she will be disciplined.

Is she actually any good at her job, btw ?

How the hell could she get a tattoo sleeve done in a month?! It should take at least 6 months more commonly up to a year and would cost a bomb!

I didn't know you could get a sleeve tattoo so quickly.

Surely that can be covered with, ahem, a sleeve? I have a friend whose partner is a police officer and he has one and wears long sleeved shirts.

She's stupid to flaunt the rules,perhaps she doesn't like it there much?

At least she isn't wearing PJ's

FWIW I have no problem with someone with pink hair or tattoos. I don't think she would look less approachable in fact she probably looks MORE approachable more real, and far far less fuddy duddy

Leave her alone OP, this is none of your business, you just keep busy doing you.

Don't understand why people are asking "what's it got to do with you". A colleague is breaking rules at work that OP has had to adhere to for her whole time there. It's not hard to figure out 🙄

DailyShite by name and writing eh? What are you, 13?

It didn't need fixing. Different standards. I have my views (which I haven't expressed on here) and you have yours, which may or may not differ from mine.

LOLZ

YANBU that she is deliberately flouting the policy for whatever reason

It's public facing so appearance matters

And having pink hair and tattoos doesn't make you less qualified for a public facing role, nor indeed do those things make your appearance shoddy or inappropriate

And that is the point isn't it Boogers.

We all have standards that we value, they may be different - just because mine may be different from yours, to imply that someone who disagrees with you doesn't have standards is a bit silly isn't it. As is name calling.

Oh crikey, this is going to be another one of those threads.

OP, I agree with you and I agree it's unfair that your contract of employment stipulates a dress code which this person has decided to challenge. She's an idiot. You're not.

And with that I'm out.

I agree that pink hair and a tattoo doesn't make a person unapproachable. However if the colleague also believes this, the answer is not to flout the rules but to ask why there and place and possibly attempt to create change in policy, not just think it's her place to break the rules because that's her opinion. I agree it is special snowflakey

As someone with tattoos (who did wear long sleeves when I was interviewed), I initially agreed with this, but then soon disagreed.

That sounds very entitled and immature.

And having pink hair and tattoos doesn't ... make your appearance shoddy or inappropriate

It absolutely can. There is no way I could take an interviewee seriously if they looked like this. (headmistress, FWIW).

I dress like a pastel princess cupcake in my own time.
I didn't dress like that when working in a client-facing role that required proper smart work wear (not all client facing roles do require it but this did.) Despite being 18 I was mature enough to 'express myself' by wearing pastel blouses under my smart dress, carrying a cute bag that nobody ever saw as it was stored in a locker, and wearing floral jewellery.

It's just not appropriate to dress informally in all situations, and if she knew the job requirements she should have stuck to them.

It's quite simple , if the company has rules about appearance then they should stick to them. They are their for a reason and if the employee does not like them they can move on. We had a similar problem with a new employee. Made her cover up the tattoo . simples .

I'm too busy googling 'pastel princess cupcake' to care

Why do you care?

Because if she doesn't stick to the rules, why should the OP?

Does the service user group who are frequenting the police station actually get to see this person ? Are they working front of house dealing with public enquiries or are they deep in the custody area ?
If front of house , then surely as long as she provides the service user with the correct useful leaflets and signpost's them to appropriate services or interfacing technology , then there shouldn't really be a problem ?

"That sounds very entitled and immature."

O, that's so cute! Not been called immature for ages!

As an academic, tats etc don't seem to be a problem, although the whole socks and sandals (in the summer months anyway) is one issue that is never going to go away.....................

"They are their for a reason"

Not necessarily. Lack of sleeves, clear to the elbow (including rings, watches etc) is there for a real reason in the health case, but in many other cases it just reduces to the particular prejudices of whoever set up the 'dress code'. Wearing the 'wrong' shoes or having pink hair doesn't necessarily have any impact whatsoever on someones ability to do the job, or their success at it.