Answered by Heli Ojavee, Counselling Lawyer at the Labour Inspectorate
An employer may impose requirements relating to the appearance of employees in the employment contract, work organisation rules or other internal documents. The rules should be general in nature; for example, it may be required that the employee’s appearance is clean and appropriate. More specific requirements may be imposed in areas where it is important to comply with hygiene requirements, such as food production and handling or medicine. An employer may impose stricter appearance and clothing rules if they are related to occupational safety requirements. For instance, there have been occupational accidents where long hair has been caught in machinery and caused serious injury. In such cases, implementing stricter rules is appropriate.
Employees should keep in mind that, while performing their duties, they are a representative of the company; therefore, their appearance should not distract from their duties. This means that sportswear, revealing clothing and large pieces of jewellery are not appropriate.
While it is not prohibited to impose appearance requirements on employees, these rules must apply to everyone and the requirements must be justified for the specific post and be clearly defined, specifying what is allowed and what is not. If, for example, one employee is required to wear their hair in a ponytail, this requirement should also apply to all other employees with similar hair length. The reasons for establishing the rules should be explained and justified to the employees, clarifying why the rules are important to the employer.
It is advisable for the employer to inform the employee of the rules during the job interview. If the rules are introduced during the employment relationship, the employer should allow sufficient time to explain the new rules to employees and to help them adjust.
It is important to note that employees are protected by law from any requirements relating to appearance or behaviour based on gender roles. Employers cannot expect employees to adhere to gender-specific norms. For instance, employees have the right to choose whether to wear a skirt or trousers and whether to have long or short hair. If the employer insists that an employee wear a skirt, the employee still retains the right to wear trousers, and vice versa.
If discrimination is suspected, the employee should first contact the employer to obtain an explanation of the established requirement. If the issue cannot be resolved in co-operation with the employer, the employee may reach out to the Gender Equality and Equal Treatment Commissioner for an assessment.
You can read more about equal treatment and discrimination at work here.
