A bra has to be worn to work by all female staff, a court in Germany has ruled.
They also specified that the colour of the bra has to be in white or flesh coloured, to ensure no other colours would ‘shine through’.
The State Labour Court in the North Rhine-Westphalia area came to the verdict after deciding on an employment case involving the dress and grooming habits of the personnel of an airport security company.
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Since the decision was made in the state court, the new ruling will apply to all workplaces in North Rhine-Westphalia area – the most populous state in Germany.
The ruling also states that the length of women’s fingernails also can be determined by their superiors and that hair must be clean and groomed.
“Being told to wear a bra and to keep fingernails to shorter than half-a-centimetre does not impinge on personal rights,” was the verdict of the court.
“It is not a disproportionate impairment of personal rights.’”
Meantime, male employees will have to keep their facial hair in check, and bosses can order employees to have their beards trimmed if they deem fitting.
The workers of the security company, who had thought the company’s rulebook was too stringent, didn’t have a very successful day in court as most of their objections were overturned.
They did, however, win the right to decide on the shade of nail polish that they want to wear, and they are also allowed to wear a wig to work, which previously had been banned.
Also, for women who would like to let their boobs hang freely at work they can, however, it must be under the condition that the female wears an undershirt the court ruled.
