From holey jeans to eye-catching tattoos, personal appearance always causes conflict in the workplace. But not everything that employers would like to stipulate is also legally permissible.
The boundaries of desscode in the workplace are often more complicated than expected.
Basic legal situation: personal rights versus management rights
First of all, every employee has the right to freely develop his or her personality – this also includes clothing, hairstyle and body decoration. However, as a report by “Your Provision” shows, employers can, based on their right to direct, make requirements, “but not unlimited”. What is always crucial is a balance in each individual case between the personal rights of the employees and the legitimate interests of the company.
When it comes to hygiene and safety reasons, employers have extensive powers: from surgical clothing in the hospital to the protective helmet on the construction site, there is “little room for interpretation,” as Till Bender from the German Federation of Trade Unions explains. Uniform uniforms are also permitted, for example to make employees recognizable to customers or to maintain corporate identity. According to the “Deutsche Handwerkzeitung”, the Düsseldorf Regional Labor Court even confirmed the dismissal of a fitter who wore black work trousers instead of the required red ones.
Differences depending on the area of activity and customer contact
The strictness of the dress code depends largely on the job in question. Anyone who has contact with customers must expect significantly stricter requirements. “If a certain external impact is desired, the employer can insist that the clothing is serious and appropriate for the activity,” explains specialist lawyer Volker Görzel. Jeans with holes, conspicuous piercings or colorful hair can be prohibited in individual cases, provided there is justification for this.
The situation is different for activities without customer contact. There, the legal scope for dress codes is considerably more limited. “You can hardly forbid a clerk in an open-plan office from wearing shorts in the summer,” says Görzel. When it comes to tattoos and piercings, the context is particularly important: While they can be problematic in some professions such as banking or the police, they are now widespread and accepted in craft or creative industries.
Changes in jurisprudence and social development
The jurisprudence has become significantly more liberal in recent years. Tattoos, unusual hairstyles or fashionable peculiarities are viewed more tolerantly today than they were ten or twenty years ago. As the “Wirtschaftswissen” report shows, almost one in five Germans now has a tattoo – and among 25 to 34 year olds it is even one in four.
The shortage of skilled workers also plays a role: Many companies are more open if the external appearance is unconventional but unproblematic in everyday work. However, the following applies: A warning or even termination is possible if employees violate specific requirements or safety and hygiene rules. In the event of conflicts, labor law experts recommend starting a discussion early on and, if necessary, involving the works council, as they have a right to co-determination when introducing dress codes.
D. Maier / editorial team finanzen.net
