School sets dress code — for professors
December 7, 2009 by Claire KnightPosted in: Campus News, In this week's e-newsletter, Latest News & Views
No short skirts. No visible boxers under sagging pants. And if professors at this school violate the new dress code, they’ll be sent home.
University officials in England say professors at Birmingham Metropolitan College now requires lecturers to don a “business suit; smart jacket and co-ordinating trousers or skirt; smart shirt/top/blouse or smart dress.”
Further, the new policy specifically bans professors from wearing:
- scruffy trousers
- jeans
- visible tattoos
- body piercings other than earrings
- outlandish jewelry, and
- distracting hair styles/colors.
University staff is up in arms, arguing that they know what is — and isn’t — appropriate attire to wear during a lecture.
College officials are adamant that staff has a “responsibility” to dress in a professional manner that upholds the university’s values.
University and College Union (UCU) members insist the new policy “harks back to Victorian times.” The UCU argues that the policy may be discriminatory. Members are insisting that the school withdraw the new dress code policy.
Should universities be allowed to implement dress codes for professors? Share your thoughts in our comments section below.
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Tags: Birmingham Metropolitan College, University and College Union
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December 9th, 2009 at 8:33 pm
Employers have a right to set reasonable conditions of employment, including the requirement that employees wear a uniform. (Ever been to McDonald’s or Best Buy?)
However, in this case, the issue seems to be past precedent. The University gave employees the right to choose their attire in the past. Suddenly, the University creates a unilateral policy, burdening the employees with new, expensive, and time consuming attire rules. The employees have been materially damaged by this, and probably have standing to sue for either damages or a return to the previous policy. However, new hires could be made to follow the new policy.
December 9th, 2009 at 10:38 pm
The job of a professor is to set the highest standards of thinking, communication, expression for the students and to ask difficult questions to understand what cannot be easily explained. At least this is so in major research universities. There is no question that such a job requires responsible attire. 50% of my professors were well dressed – none in suits though (being in the physics community, that would be almost unimaginable) and the remaining 50% wore jeans, t-shirts etc. At no point did they seem distracting. It seems to me that a university that imposes such a strict dress code for its most valuable resource base is perhaps not sure of the academic and personal commitments of its own professors.
December 10th, 2009 at 10:16 am
As the HR manager at an independent school (PreK-12), I sometimes look at how casually some of our teachers dress and shake my head. Then I remember that the fact that I worked in the corporate world for 20+ years prior to working here doesn’t mean that I am necesssarily “right”. I do think that the way you dress conveys a strong message and that there is nothing illegal or discriminatory about requiring a certain dress code. What I would recommend is that the university allow a reasonable amount of time before implementing the new policy, to allow teachers time to purchase more appropriate clothing. Dressing well/professionally does not have to cost a lot of money. The issue of visible tattoos is more problematic, since they have become so common-place. Piercings can be removed during the work day.
January 13th, 2010 at 3:46 pm
How about a female Indian professor…is she allowed to keep her nose pierced?