Should it be legal to require females to wear high heels at work?

It’s still legal in the UK for a company to require female members of staff to wear high heels at work against their will.

Should dress code laws be changed so that women have the option to wear flat formal shoes at work, if they wish? Are current formal work dress codes are out-dated and sexist?

Nicola Thorp was temping at top City firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers when she was sent home without pay for wearing flat shoes, as it was contrary to a “female grooming policy”. She has now set up a petition to make it illegal. At 100,000 signatures, this petition will be considered for debate in Parliament.

“I’m not sure exactly how [wearing heels] improves my ability to do my job. In fact, I would argue that I could do my job better if I was able to walk properly.” says Nicola.

Following her experience, she was told by the employment discrimination advice service that it is not sex discrimination to expect women to wear high heels. In 2016 it is still entirely legal for an employer to require female employees to wear high heels against their wishes.

So how do you feel about this?

Should dress code laws should be changed so that women have the option to wear flat formal shoes at work if they wish? Do you wear high heels to work out of choice? Can flat shoes can be as smart as heels? Or do you think that it is acceptable to enforce the wearing of heels at work?