Around 400 staff in Southampton City Council’s children’s services department received a memo telling them they should dress respectfully and “carefully consider their work attire”, the Daily Mail reported.
Council bosses said in the memo that women wearing mini-skirts could be sent home, while men have been advised to wear “collared or polo shirts, cotton trousers such as khakis or chinos with a belt”.
Women can wear trousers, informal dresses or skirts of “reasonable” length, but “not mini-skirts”.
“Please try to dress smartly and thoughtfully, in line with other professionals you come across in your day-to-day work, and in a way that shows respect to children and families,” it said.
Women, however, have threatened to fight the ban, as one of them said: “Are they going to come around with a tape measure?”
“I would have thought the council has got better things to do than impose a regimented approach to what people wear,” said Mike Tucker, secretary of a union.
Mike Tucker, of the Unison union, said: “If anyone is disciplined we are more than happy to defend them.”
A council spokesman said: “We do not have a rigid dress code and will not be going around with a tape measure. It’s important staff in customer-facing roles look professional.”