DRESS CODE POLICY

An Objective of Dress Code Policy

Each and every employee working for the organization represents the organization in
public as well as in front of customer or clients. Thus the personal appearance and
hygiene of the employee is directly linked with the organization. The objective of the
dress code policy is to guide the employee to dress in a befitting manner, appropriate
to the job and considering the need of company, their co-workers and safety
concerns. The positive or negative impact of the appearance of the employee has
effect on the company culture. Henceforth the objective of the dress code policy is to
convey the employee that we are all equal and related to each other by following
same work culture. 
 

Scope of Dress Code Policy

The dress code policy is applicable to the employees who are on the regular payroll
of the company. The dress code policy should be followed while working in the office
as well when the employees are out of the office on company assignments such as
client meeting, conferences, training program or business events. 
 

Elements of Dress Code Policy

The organization expects that employee should project their image as respectable,
trustworthy and knowledgeable professionals among the clients. As the appearance
has a psychological effect on the people 
with whom you interact. Thus, it is important that based on the appearance the
clients should feel comfortable to seek inputs, guidance and professional services
from the employees. 
 
• Employee should come neatly and cleanly dressed and should be well groomed
(the grooming dictated by ethnicity and religion are not restricted). 
• The dress should be appropriate to the work environment. Too revealing clothes
are not allowed. 
• The attire should project professionalism. 
• Clean and good shape clothes should be used at work. The clothes with rips, holes
or tears are not allowed. 
• Clothes offensive to other employees or public should be avoided. 
• The attire employees are expected to wear should come under business, business
casual, smart casual and casual as per the rules and day allotment done by
organization. 
 

The Definitions of Dress Code

Organization has fixed the different types of attires which come under different dress
codes. The business dress code should be followed from Monday to Thursday.
Organization has allotted business casual dress code for Friday whereas on
Saturday employees can wear smart casual dress code. For fun time, parties or
functions organized by company the employees can follow the casual dress code.
However the elements of dress code should be followed all the time. 
 
What comes under business dress code?
All the cloth should be clean and perfectly pressed. The clothes should be
comfortable for full day work and project professionalism. For men it includes formal
shirt and pant, tie, shoes and jacket. The jacket can be excluded occasionally,
however it is mandatory to wear jacket during meetings and client interactions. For
women the business dress code consists of formal Indian or western wear.   
What comes under business casual dress code?
The business casual dress code is a combination of business attire and casual
dress. The shoes are relaxed in this dress code while sandals or tennis shoes are
not allowed. Long sleeved shirts with cotton or khaki pants are included in business
casual dress code. Women can wear skirts which has hem past the knee or Indian
wear. 
 

What comes under smart casual dress code?

A pair of slacks or nice formal looking jeans along with a button up shirt is an
excellent example of smart casual dress code. Women wear consist of leggings with
cotton kruta or kurti. 
 

What comes under casual dress code?

A tasteful and relaxed dressing is part of casual dress code. One can wear Jeans and T-shirts.
The Jeans should be well fitting and not lower waist. The T-shirts should not have any
offensive lines written on it. The clothes with holes or stains are not acceptable.  
 
Note: Body piercings and tattoos should be covered under clothes. The jewellery should be
minimum. For religious concerns or policies which are not under appropriate religious
accommodation should be discussed with HR department. 
 

General Guidelines of Attire Policy

Employees should follow the below given guidelines for attire policy:  
 
• Clothes should be suitable to the work environment, properly ironed with no wrinkles. 
• The frayed and dirty clothing is not acceptable. 
• The clothing with offensive pictures, terms or words are not acceptable at workplace. 
• Employees should use certain amount of judgment while choosing their clothing they are
going to wear at work.  
• The clothes which are not fit in the policy or fail to meet the set standards of the
organization will be determined by HR department and warning will be issued to the
employee. 
• Disciplinary action will be taken by the organization if the problem of inappropriate attire
persists. 
 

Dress Code Violations and Disciplinary Consequences

It is responsibility of reporting managers/supervisor/HR department to inform the employees
that they have violated the dress code policy. In case of violation the employee can
immediately correct the problem. Supervisor may allow the employee to leave the work and
go out to change the clothes. Employee can borrow the clothes from their office mates or can
go to the persons home which is nearby the workplace to change the clothes. 
 
 
The repeated violation of dress code may lead to major repercussions and result into
disciplinary action which includes termination. The termination of employee can occur in
case of dress code violation if: 
• Repeated dress code violations even after receive the warning and memo from HR
department. 
• In case the inappropriate appearance of employee leads to irreparable damage such as loss
of important client or deal.
 

Clothing which Violates the Dress Code Policy

 
Here are list of cloths which are not allowed at workplace. Employees should not wear these
clothes at office. 
 
Clothes- Tattered jeans or shorts, patch work on jeans, inappropriate slacks, dressy capris,
exercise pants, sweatpants, bermuda shorts, sweat suits, see-through shirts or blouses, sports
bras, tank tops, halter tops, Mini-skirts, beach dresses, skirt below knee level. 
Shoes- Flip-flops, flashy athletic shoes, boots, loose footwear, open-toed shoes. 
Necessary action will be taken if employee will be found wearing the prohibited clothing at
workplace. 
 

Industry Innovative Practices

It is always important that a dress code policy of the company represents the culture of the
organization. A company dealing in progressive software should not follow a regressive dress
code policy. While designing the dress code policy it is essential to listen to the employees,
also to check the age group of the employees working in the company. Most of the time it is
found the young generation is not comfortable with the business attire and always prefer to
wear a casual outfit. The employees of young generation often argue that it is difficult to
work when they are feeling really uncomfortable in their formal attire. Thus, in order to make
work fun they want to wear a casual outfit. 
 
Recently Johnson Lambert LLP which is a CPA firm has changed their dress code policy
from business dress code to smart casual dress code. The firm wanted to maintain a
professional tone through their dress code policy, but not many clients were visiting in their
office. Mostly the service staff would visit to the client office and thus a strict business dress
code at workplace was not much suitable.  
 
Johnson Lambert Company found that smart casual are great combination of business and
casual attire. It is ‘smart’ way to dress at office and employee often can mis-match the
business attire with their casual clothes. Company provided the lenient boundaries of the new
smart casual dress code and employees adapted quickly. The employee of younger
demographic felt that company is following the new trends in the corporate world.
Employees of the organization were happy and thankful that company has allowed them to
dress the way they want. The change in dress code policy resulted in the empowerment of the
employees and helped them to wear what they feel comfortable to work throughout the day.