New govt guidelines - dress codes

[TerfTerfTerf]

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/708139/dress-code-guidance-may2018.pdf

A couple of interesting bits:

1. "An employer requires female staff to wear high heels as part of a dress code but places no footwear requirements on men or merely requires them to look smart. This is likely to constitute direct discrimination on grounds of sex because there is not an equivalent standard imposed on male staff. It may also amount to indirect discrimination against employees with a disability, where heels could exacerbate any difficulties with their mobility, or for those who are visually impaired, where walking in heels can pose an extra risk of falling."

The Equality Act is obviously still a consideration on such cases...

1. "There are some people whose gender identity (the gender with which they identify) does not match the gender they were assigned at birth – these are transgender people."

Seems that even govt cant bear to use the word sex and buys into the idea that newborns have a gender identity. Wonder who advised them!

1. they had to be reminded of that fact by a petition to Parliament after women were discriminated against and employers got away with it.
   petition.parliament.uk/archived/petitions/129823

2. The Equality Act protects sex as a characteristic, not gender.

I feel like 1) is an attempt at a reassurance/distraction from 2), which predicts the outcome of the upcoming 'debate'.

If a company has previously required women to wear heels as part of their dress code, do you think women would have a case to force the company to pay for any health problems caused by it? Because aside from the fact that it directly discriminates against women with disabilities, wearing heels can cause long term health issues.