Woman’s clothing inappropriate for work

January 2023

Simone* worked for a community sector service provider.

Simone received a written warning from her employer for wearing inappropriate clothes to work. She felt as though she was being discriminated against because her male co-workers who were wearing similar clothing were not issued warnings for their standard of dress.

Simone lodged a complaint of sex discrimination with ADNSW.

Simone’s employer denied discriminating against her, saying that they had received complaints about Simone’s clothing from a client.

The community sector service provider did not provide any guidance on what type of clothing should be worn and their employee handbook only stated that employees should wear clothes appropriate to their job responsibilities.

The complaint was resolved at a conciliation conference when Simone and her employer mutually agreed to end their working relationship. Simone resigned and accepted a payment of $7,000 for the general damages she had suffered.

*Name has been changed to protect the privacy of the individual