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.

It is.

If the uniform cost takes you below minimum wage, the company is breaking the law. A large customer of mine told me they nearly fell foul of this without realising it was the case. The difficulty will be that if you're buying from their range then the cost won't be fixed. I think you'd need to prove that the cheapest options still do this. I'd just look for another job.

www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/national-minimum-wage-manual/nmwm11220

It will be part of her contract that they can't be sold for usually a year. Stops people profiting from Uniform allowance. Annoying, but could land her with with a disciplinary.

There is every reason to name and shame. Why should a company get away with forcing employees to buy clothes from their own company? If they want their employees to conform to a certain look, then they must pay.

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

This comment shows just how out of touch some MNers are with real life. I probably could afford to spend that, but I wouldn't - it's ridiculously wasteful, both of money and resources.

I worked in newlook and had to do this, can you not buy bits as and when each month when you get paid or do they have a store card you could use and pay off to get work clothes.

claim the cost of the work clothes against tax.

I don’t know if any other HR types have come along as I’ve not read all the comments but…I’m surprised HMRC haven’t waded in on this one with their NMW audits yet!
they are stating you “have” to wear clothes from themselves, this constitutes uniform regardless of any choice you have in the matter. This means that any cost to you reduces pay and therefore if you are at or just above NMW then it is likely taking your pay below NMW and is illegal.
would love to be a fly on the wall of those audit interviews!!

I always assumed that staff in clothes shops HAVE to wear the clothes and get a big discount but it never occurred to me about the part timers / Saturday staff.
I thought surely if you get a job in a clothes shop it is because you like their clothes and buy from there anyway?
Otherwise wouldn't you just work in any shop?

Or they need a job and that's all they can find?

Since you only work 18 hours for them, 1 pair of plain trousers and 2 tops should be enough for your uniform. If you are paying 30% of the value of the clothes, you could easily recoup costs by selling on if you won't use them afterwards. You can also gift or donate to charity if it's the waste element.
Seek advice if 1 or 2 outfits per season will take you below minimum wage.

OP hasn't been back, but says they are above minimum wage, so likely the company have already factored the clothes into the wage this so they are not in breach. Agree it could even be one top OP hand washes and dries overnight, if they work consecutive shifts.
I never really noticed staff wearing the clothes either, unless they are assisting me and I'm buying the same item, or they point it out as a suggestion. Even if I think of staff in Monsoon, they usually appear to be dressed in practical office type wear.

I never imagined that my post would get so many replies.

I am paid 10p more an hour than minimum wage. Buying clothing from work would put my wages below minimum wage.

My family need my wages to pay bills. We have often run out of money to buy food at the end of the month. We have cut back on everything we can, we have no luxury's, we sold our car to make bills more affordable. I was really happy to have this job but my children need school uniform and we have credit card bills we used to pay for essentials like a new oven when it recently broke. I would love to be able to treat myself to my employers latest fashions but spending this money on clothes does take money away from our bills. It's my wages, I've earned it to afford to feed my family. I shouldn't be told how to spend it.

I've applied for months for a job, I was offered this one and I accepted it as I'm not in a position to turn down work. I was unaware of the uniform policy before starting. I do love my employers clothes. That makes me a good employee as I am passionate about the products I sell and I work hard, but unfortunately for me buying clothes are a birthday or Christmas treat, not something that I can have every 3 months.

I have to keep working here as I cannot afford to leave, having some money coming in is better than having no income at all, and I will look for another job where my employer doesn't tell me how I can spend my wages.

Maybe if you're only on an 18 hr contract u can get away with one outfit every week? Eg, 1 pair of trousers and a top per week, accessorise them, wear them differently? Then put them on Vinted/Ebay every 3 months to recoup some cash back.

Based on your hours and with your discount, it seems you have maximum £70 total shop value of clothes every 3 months and the shop will not be in breach of minimum wage. I don’t know what the shop prices are, in some places that might only buy you a new season top and you would have to wear your own black trousers or skirt. Will there be an opportunity to increase your hours or for a pay rise with time?

It would be illegal for your employer to expect you to buy more than £70 worth of goods in their shop, which probably means you won’t be able to wear new season shoes etc (unless they are willing to provide these).

I’d be inclined to report them to HMRC OP, this could prompt an NMW audit investigation and would result in a reimbursement to all employees affected, spanning a 6 year period, and cause the company to change their policy on uniform. It could also prompt other similar companies to proactively change their uniform policies because HMRC do tend to name and shame, although haven’t for a few years but keep threatening to. Large companies have to report the underpayments and fines on their P&L and Annual reports so it gets out when probed by the city.
What they are doing is wrong.

OP earns 10p over NMW, so at 18 hours per week that’s £1.80 per week over NMW. On an average 4.33 week month that’s about £7.80. A cost of £70 in one payroll reference period to purchase mandatory uniform would result in a £52.20 underpayment in breach of NMW legislation. This cannot be spread Over multiple months unless it is purchased over multiple months.

This needs to be reported, the company would be fined if they are found to be paying less than NMW and forced to pay back the money they have stolen.

unless it is reported though nothing will change

op can also do this anonymously

I’ve got to say that I have never looked at a sales assistant and thought I must buy what they are wearing! It just doesn’t cross my mind like that! I think shops are blooming cheeky and should give it free as part of a uniform!

My sister worked at All Saints a few years ago. Floor staff got to pick one to two outfits for work - the manager would approve these (they would be cheaper items, like jeans or a skirt and a plain top and I think shoes too - but no dresses or leather jackets) and they were free. They then got a very hefty discount on anything else they wanted to buy, but AS is so expensive that probably few took advantage.

What I found more outrageous was that my sister had to wear a full face of makeup every day if working on the shop floor. All the store staff were young and attractive, so there was obviously discriminatory hiring going on. 😐

@Mfsf

It has been challenged in employment court, in fact it went to the House of Lords. The precedent was set in 1983 in Malleliou vs Drummond, it was something I remember being taught about the case in class as a trainee accountant in the early 90s and it is still relevant and still quoted and taught today. It is an extremely well known case (if you work in accounting or perhaps HR).

The clothes are absolutely not tax deductible. As well as the other valid points posters have made, another key test would be if a person in the street saw you in these clothes would they know where you work. The answer here would clearly be no.

For the similar reason, I do not believe any of this stuff about the employer acting unlawfully because buying clothes take OP below minimum wage. I can’t buy something which I receive benefit from for myself (which was the key point in Malleliou vs Drummond) and then say my employer has breached employment law. The proof is also in the pudding here, many retail staff will be on minimum wage and many will be told they need to wear the stores clothes. If this was illegal, somebody would have noticed a very long time ago.

There is a simple solution to this, steal their clothes.

I can’t buy something which I receive benefit from for myself (which was the key point in Malleliou vs Drummond) and then say my employer has breached employment law.

By that logic Tesco could make employees spend their entire wage at the shop.

Of course if mandatory deductions take you below minimum wage it's unlawful.

If this was illegal, somebody would have noticed a very long time ago.

That presumes all shops doing this pay so little that the break minimum wage laws. This case could be an over officious manager or simply one chain being particularly exploitative.

Clearly from the stories of other retail worker on here many chains don't operate the policy in this way.

I am giving the current legal situation, not a personal opinion. You can argue with me all you like, but this is the way it stands.

I am paid 10p more an hour than minimum wage. Buying clothing from work would put my wages below minimum wage.

Contact ACAS. Then put this sentence in writing to your employer. They would be very foolish to insist on breaching minimum wage law.