Work expect us to look like models

[Coldpop]

I've started a job in a clothing store where staff wear their own clothes.. or so I thought. No. We have to wear the clothes that work sell and we only get 70% discount. We have to have everything from work, top bottoms and shoes. We also have to wear stuff from the current season, so every 3 months we are expected to buy more tops bottoms shoes as we can no longer wear what isn't being sold in store. I'm on a 18 hour contract, barely over minimum wage. I can't afford this! I'm a mum with a mortgage. Clothes in my family have to last us till they need replacing. I also think it's very wasteful to have to constantly buy clothing. At the least to be able to buy the cheapest stuff from work it will cost me about £80- 100 every 3 months. It's not exactly a cheap store. There's posters up all over the staff room telling us to inspire customers with our outfit choices, that we have to be stylish at all times!. Im used to dressing smart for work.. but Im going to feel mugged every 3 months that I have to part with my wages to be an advert for my employer. I've just started, I've had no wages but I've been asked to sort my outfit choices as soon as possible. Don't know what to do. Is this the norm in retail now?

This has almost always been the case in clothes shops. 70-75% staff discount on uniform allowance and about 25-25% on non-uniform allowance.

Staff wear the clothes the store sells.

Sell the clothes as soon as you are no longer required to wear them.

I assume you're talking about Next or Monsoon - it's always been the case - I'd love that job with 75% discount on current seasons clothes and so would lots of people.

£80 every three months updating your wardrobe isn't excessive and you don't have to waste your old stuff you can donate it to charity or sell it and recoup some of the cost.

Otherwise, your only other option is to work in a non-fashion related retail environment like Tesco, which i personally don't think is as nice a place to work.

It's always been the norm in fashion clothing stores, have you never noticed that when you go into Next/River Island/Zara (or similar) all the staff are wearing Next/River Island/Zara clothes? It isn't because they like them!

Sell the stuff on eBay or Vinted once you are done with it.

£80 every three months updating your wardrobe isn't excessive

It is to a lot of people!

Thats the norm in every clothing store i have ever worked in, normally you are told about it at interview etc or induction as a benefit. Depending on numbet of shifts you work for18hours you ptobably only need 1 or 2 outfits. Could do jeans and a different top to make it a bit cheaper

I agree. What a stupid comment to make given the situation we are in today. I haven’t paid my gas and electric bill in 4 months because I can’t afford to despite working full time. I’ve been using the money to feed my children and buy 3 new sets of uniform for this September. Like fuck have a got a spare few hundred to buy myself multiple sets of seasonal clothes every year for work.

Make sure you reclaim tax on your uniform!

They should give you the clothes for free as a work uniform

Quite. As well as being a lot of money it's also incredibly wasteful. No one needs new clothes every three months unless they're a) growing out of them or b) they're getting damaged. It might be the norm in fashion retail but that doesn't make it right.

Completely unreasonable of them to expect you to buy new clothes in the store everything three months, even with a discount. That's basically deducting money out of your minimum wage...even worse that you are on part-time hours.

They should either provide you with a uniform or state that you can wear the clothes you bought in store for at least a year.

if they want you to model you should get the clothes for free...

Seriously I would name and shame them on social media. I would actually as a consumer want to know about this so I can avoid buying their products.

Christ MN is awful sometimes. The fact that a particular employer has 'always' done something is irrelevant. The fact that some people love profligate consumption is irrelevant.

@Coldpop Your employer can charge you for a uniform but there are two caveats to that:

1. It must be included in your contract of employment.

1. It must not take you below minimum wage.

If you are going to say no (I would) then speak to ACAS first and say no in writing making the legal basis for your refusal clear.

Can you carefully choose clothes that they sell for a bit longer, like jeans?
How often do you do a clothes wash? If it’s a couple of times a week that could mean you can get away with just two tops? So that would bring your 3 monthly spend right down.

I also agree that this is the norm in fashion retail. If it’s a chain, it’s often against policy to sell on clothes bought with discount, although if it’s an independent shop that might not apply.
Some retailers give you an allowance so you don’t pay at all for a certain value and then you can top it up with discounted purchases, you don’t always need to spend a lot of your own money.
I know quite a few people who work in independent boutique shops purely for the discount - they love clothes, buy a lot anyway, and the discount makes it better. They also love fashion and styling so get to shop vicariously through their customers.
I’m surprised the clothing/uniform expectations weren’t mentioned to you at interview though.

Surely you’d been in to one of their stores before getting the job and noticed how the staff looked? This discount is often a factor why people take jobs in retail, it’s certainly not for the rude entitled customers or long unsociable hours.

Unfortunately you can only do that if it has “tax tags” on it, which identify it as a uniform, not just their merchandise

If a certain dress style is compulsory it should be provided by the company. Work at Sainsburys or tesco for example and you wouldn't be expected to pay for your uniform. You may be expected to pay if you wanted extra shirts/trousers etc but not the whole ruddy kit.
And yes 80 quid quarterly is a lot for those on a tight budget!!

Wasn't this mentioned to you in the terms and conditions?
I always thought clothes shops did this and it is a massive discount. If it's too difficult, though, speak to your line manager.

If i wanted to stay working there I would choose one pair of classic looking branded black trousers or jeans, and two tops. Wear them on rotation. Buy one extra thing each season and wear mixed with the older pieces. Pretend you have very wide/narrow feet so can’t fit their shoes. Job done.

It’s probably not a good idea for you to move jobs to a clothes shop with these rules then.

OP, have a look at how much their high-end items sell for on Vinted. It’s possible that you could even turn a profit if you buy the right things and sell them afterwards.

You’re conflating dress style with a uniform.

I’m expected to dress professionally at work, DH has had to wear a suit before, and neither were paid for by work.

Look for another job.

I worked part time as a student in Jigsaw many moons ago and this was completely the norm. You got a certain amount free of charge and then massive discount on anything after that. You are there to sell the clothes/brand/image of the company so completely understandable that they have this expectation.

It may even be illegal if it drops your wage below minimum wage, check it out

This ! My son worked at Office and was given a free pair of shoes every three months !