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?

Has anyone ever actually noticed what staff were wearing and been inspired to buy? Because I haven't!

Me neither. I don't really pay much attention to the people who work there unless I need to ask them something or to speak to them when I pay. I certainly don't analyse their outfits.

This!

They're not, because people don't wear suits in the office anymore. You just need something smart in case you have a client meeting. You can hire a dinner jacket if you need one (or borrow one). You can get your clothes from any source (eg buy second hand in charity shops and on ebay). You are not being forced to buy from a single source (see also: school uniform).

And paralegals earn considerably more than shop workers do.

I do occasionally notice they are wearing the clothes they sell, but not always and I couldn't tell you which ones!

It's not the same thing.

Paralegals aren't expected to wear latest season clothes from a certain brand (including shoes) and to replace them every season. You could have a couple of suits and just rotate several smart tops etc. for years if you wanted to.

Well he's obviously earning more than a retail worker then isn't he 🙄 what a ridiculous comparison

It's normal unfortunately.

I used to work in Phase Eight years ago and we got a low uniform allowance and the rest was paid for ourselves.
I got two outfits and wore them on rotation but with my own shoes. People probably were sick of the sight of the same clothes constantly but it was just too expensive to buy more.

This is wrong morally, financially and environmentally.

Please name and shame shops who do this so I can avoid.

It's not unusual and a lot of workers see it as a bonus. For you, obviously it's a major negative, so you're not a good fit for that job

Rubbish, the OP isn't averse to wearing their clothes, but she's averse to making herself poor to do it. Nothing with being a good fit or otherwise (no pun intended).

I worked in Monsoon years ago, the discount was one of the reasons I took the job! It was very clear from interview that you had to buy & west current season clothes & yes it does get customers to buy stuff

Pretty much every single clothing store in the country does this.

Also puzzled why unions aren't a bigger thing - presumably due to oversupply of workers, which no longer applies. They do still have some power.

People in the UK have an aversion to being seen as 'difficult' to the point of being unwilling to advocate for their own basic legal rights and tending to make excuses for those who exploit them.

Don't get me wrong: there are some shit unions and the quality of volunteer reps varies hugely but, in general, a strong union makes a huge difference to workers rights and pay.

Employment is a market like any other. Employers have vastly more power and information in that market than any individual employee. Being in a union just redresses that balance a bit.

How ridiculous. I agree that staff wearing the clothes can inspire customers, I often ask where their outfit is from ( thinking about it they often say last season!) but to expect you to pay any part of it is out of order. I would look for another job.

Like pp I worked in retail as a student and we had to do this, I always thought it was standard. I got a good discount.
I do look at shop staff because I look to see how they're pairing items, or what looks good.
Anyway, some good advice on here, so don't put yourself into debt.

OP I used to have this when I was a student. Even with the massive discount on clothes I couldn't afford it.

I worked or AllSaints and I used to buy their plain t-shirts with the little ram logo so it was clearly their brand, but I'd wear it with plain black leggings (from primark or similar) and a plain black mini skirt (also from primark or similar). The trick was to find a cheap version of their basic items from cheaper shops and wear them as long as you can. So the leggings and mini skirt had no logo or anything on them to identify where they were from and could easily pass (at a glance) as AllSaints products. If someone asked I would lie through my teeth. Either I bought them from a different branch or I had gotten mixed up and accidentally worn my primark leggings instead of the AS ones (which I knew I didn't own).

I did always buy their shoes as it was quite an obvious staple at the time (the military boot era) but would try and find a slightly damaged pair in the back and buy those ones with the additional discount.

They certainly did want us to wear the current trends and would try and ask you to do so, I would just tell them that I couldn't afford to right now. They can't actually force you or fire you for not buying their latest lines.

I worked in a different clothing shop which would encourage us to wear stuff from the shop floor for the day if you couldn't buy it. What was weird was we used to just hang them back up and sell them on at the end of each shift. It's only occurred to me now while typing this that that's weird. Anyway, whenever we hit a sales target, we would accrue points which could be saved and exchanged for clothes. That part was great.

This sounds like really sound advice. Enforcing every a change every 3 months sounds ridiculous to me

Of course it's excessive. And wasteful. And budget destroying/impossible for lots of people, especially right now.

I'd tell them they'll have to provide the clothes if they want you to wear them while you look for another job. Alternatively, buy a pair of their jeans and a single plain tshirt top that they sell and wear it daily while you look for another job.

Who on earth would know where you got your suit or other clothes from?

I think you are confusing charity shops with 1970s jumble sales. If you go the right shops you can pick up really decent stuff.

To be honest you only have to see the comments here - it's normal, leave and get another job if you don't like it, etc

The RMT is annoying with its rail strikes, but their members don't have to put up with poor working conditions, because of the clout it has. Retail workers don't have a union like that, and are told to put up and shut up, as evidenced by this discussion.

Agree, it is to me, especially if it's clothes that I would only wear to a part time job.

Agree with this.
Join a Union and every one else too, it’s for yourself, but also for the greater good. They will stand up for you, you are not alone.

It has helped me in the past knowing what my rights are, and to have someone in your corner, when you need it most.

I am surprised people just roll over for these employers, who ask for the world - it seems to be ‘normal’ - but of course it is not.

it would be nice to make a change; up the minimum wages, better conditions and countrywide regulations to keep the employers to it.

This might be useful

id contact ACAS for further advice

if you case of having to purchase “uniform” is taking your pay below minimum wage then this could be construed as illegal

This was the norm when my cousin was a trainee buyer in an Oxford Street department store in the 70s. She was very poorly paid, the discount was very small and they were only allowed to use it to shop in their lunch hour. Any chance of promotion virtually relied on the retirement or death of a senior buyer. She left after a year and retrained in another profession.

I’m not sure the figures add up? If you get a 75% discount, why will it cost you £80 every three months?

That equates to a full outfit cost of £325-ish. There’s no need to spend that much on clothing, especially as you only work 18 hours.

You can definitely get away with wearing your own shoes for “medical/health” reasons. Basic bottoms which are always sold - black jeans etc, won’t need to be replaced every three months. Then a couple of cheap tops which with a 75% discount should cost no more than a few quid. Your three-monthly outlay should be minimal.

Plus, as others have said, you could sell on Vinted etc at 60% below RRP and you’ll still end up making more money than you spend buying!

If you didn’t realise, you’re probably reeling with shock but if you work it out there’s no reason to end up out of pocket. You don’t need to spend £80 every three months.

Can you buy the popular stuff with a 70% discount, flog it with tags at 50% and pocket the difference?