FASHION VICTIM: The retail staff who can't afford to dress the part

Retailers who pressure staff to wear the latest season trends could be breaking the law if they do not offer to fully reimburse them.

Workers at stores including Wittner, Jigsaw, Sportsgirl and Review have revealed this was seen as a requirement - even for those on casual shifts - with staff discounts and other allowances often unable to fully cover the clothing they were expected to buy.

But most retailers have denied there is any formal requirement and argued that workers have been provided with appropriate reimbursement.

Under the Fair Work Act if an employer requires any special clothing to do a job they need to cover the cost unless otherwise stated in an enterprise agreement.

While most stores say wearing the clothing is not compulsory - merely “encouraged” or indeed “expected” - workers have said in practice the position is clear.

Asking staff to spend their wages to buy clothes contravenes the Act if it can be classified as an “unreasonable requirement”.

An employer must not exert undue influence or pressure on an employee if they chose not to receive a deduction from their pay to buy items like clothing and footwear.

Eric Morris - CEO of the PAS Group, which owns Review, said wearing the product was “encouraged" and “mentioned in recruitment” as part of the “requirement” but it was not written into staff contracts.

Mr Morris said full-time staff received a $300 monthly allowance and a 40 per cent discount for the items with pro rata for part-time and casuals.

“We do reimburse them for the full amount because they can get by on $300 a month,” he said. “We believe we are very generous in our policy compared to a number of other organisations.”

Wittner national operations manager Judy Schilling it was “an expectation” that staff wear the store’s shoes while working and that they were reimbursed through the discount they receive.

“If they have any medical issues and they can’t wear the shoe then they don’t have to,” Ms Schilling said.

Sportsgirl brand manager Prue Thomas said that while the company encourages its staff to wear Sportsgirl product, there was no written rule to enforce this request.

“Sportsgirl provide various levels of product allowance and varying degrees of discount dependent on your position in the company,” Ms Thomas said.

“We are fortunate that the majority of our staff across the brand love the Sportsgirl collections and wear them to work by their own accord.”

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Author: Sarah Michael
Source: www.news.com.au, January 17, 2012