June 1, 2016

Cabinet minister comments on dress code row

There was controversy last month after a temp was sent home from a London accountancy firm after refusing to wear stilettos.

Nicola Thorp, aged 27, was incensed by the “sexist” dress code and started a petition calling for it to be made illegal to force women to wear the footwear against their will.

More than 100,000 people have signed the online campaign which means the subject will have to be considered for debate by the House of Common.

Reacting to the campaign, Mr Javid said he had sympathy with the sentiments being expressed but indicated that he wasn’t keen on passing new legislation.

“No woman should be forced to wear high heels. Responsible employers shouldn’t need the law to tell them that.”

The recent row comes following a similar stand-off between British Airways and the airline’s cabin crew earlier this year.

In February, the firm agreed that women should be allowed to wear trousers if they wanted to – thus ending a two year impasse.

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