New guidelines to ban bosses from telling women what to wear at work

Employers will be banned from telling women what to wear to work in new guidelines designed to clamp down on sexism.

New official guidance will call on companies to scrap discriminatory dress codes and ensure staff are asked to adhere to “flexible and understanding” rules.

The rules to be published by the Government Equalities Office later this month will insist dress codes must have similar standards for men and women, according to the Sun.

Guidelines will also ban companies from telling staff to remove religious symbols “that do not interfere with an employee’s work”, the Sunday Telegraph reported.

The move comes partly in response to a report published by Parliament’s women and equalities committee.

The rules are designed to offer clarity in the face of legal disputes relating to alleged discriminatory dress codes.

In 2016 actress Nicola Thorp launched a petition after being sent home from work after wearing high heels.

Ms Thorp, who was employed as a temporary worker by PwC’s outsourced reception firm Portico, launched her campaign after being told to leave on her first day when she turned up in flat shoes in 2016.