With the move to hybrid working in many areas of the Council, it is considered important to clarify expectations in terms of appropriate dress code.

Many employees have been working from home for many months and dress codes may have become less formal as a result. It is important to establish basic guidelines for appropriate dress at work which:

• promotes a positive and professional image
• maintains good staff morale
• respects the needs of workers from all cultures and religions
• makes adjustments that may be needed because of a disability
• is flexible for transgender and gender non-confirming workers
• helps employees and managers decide what clothing it is appropriate to wear to work and
• takes account of health and safety requirements.

Given the diversity of services, in terms of operating needs, such as customer expectations, and safety, it is for each service to determine the appropriate dress code for each job so that employees know what is acceptable/unacceptable.

It is important that employees know that they are expected to:

• maintain a professional image whilst dressing appropriately for the needs of their job, including when working from home
• consider where they are working and who they are meeting/coming into contact with

If you are working from home or in an office that is not customer facing, then you can dress less formally, although this should still be business smart/casual. You should always dress appropriate to the situation, respecting colleagues at all times. Remember you are at work and you should be dressed appropriately, so jogging bottoms or sports wear should remain for the gym rather than the office for instance. If you question whether it might not be appropriate for the office, it probably isn't.

For time spend working from home, just because you are working from home, doesn’t mean that you skip getting dressed. Cameras should be switched on in meetings so its important that you are still appropriately dressed. A smart/casual look from home will also make you feel more productive.

All front line employees must be clean and smart when at work, particularly when in contact with customers, clients, service users or the public. This is the case whether you are working on our premises or elsewhere.

If you are provided with a Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), you must ensure it is worn and replaced when required.

Services have discretion to implement a Dress Down Friday policy offering employees the option of dressing in a casual way on certain Fridays each month. If you are unsure about whether a particular item of clothing conforms to the business casual approach then it is probably not appropriate.

Dress down Friday is optional and therefore if you feel more comfortable wearing a suit to work, then you should continue to do so. Regardless of style - casual or professional - you must always be clean and neat when attending work or representing the Council.

You should consider the feelings and thoughts of others and items of clothing should not offend. All such arrangements must recognise the need to deliver Services.

If you are going to a meeting at a business that has a different dress code, it would be expected that your dress be adjusted to fit the situation for that day.

You will be notified if this arrangement is in place for your place of work, otherwise normal dress rules apply. Where uniforms are provided no alternatives should be worn.