Sir, – I refer to Nicola Thorp, who was sent home from work for not wearing high-heeled shoes ("Firm in high heels row changes policy after controversy", May 12th). I am beginning to think the world has gone mad. Are employers not allowed to have some say in what their employees wear to work? The company were not looking for a seven-inch "car to bar" kitten heel, complete with red sole, just a two-inch one.
She was working in an office environment where heels are often the norm if business attire is required. If she was a fitness instructor and was asked to wear heels, we could see the absurdity in this, but this request took place in an office. Ms Thorp was laughed at for pointing out that a male colleague was not wearing high heels. I’m sure the same colleague was not wearing a bra. I wonder, if said male colleague had arrived at work without a tie, and was reprimanded for not wearing one, would he have been laughed at if his only argument was that his female colleagues weren’t wearing ties either? – Yours, etc,
MELANIE HUNTER,
Greystones,
Co Wicklow.
Sir, – PricewaterhouseCoopers has no heel-height stipulation; the agency Nicola Thorp worked for does. She was hired and signed a contract to wear two-inch or four-inch heels at her role in PricewaterhouseCoopers. She was then offered the option to replace the flat shoes she chose to wear that day or go home without pay for the day by her employer, the agency. She refused. She broke her contract with her employer, a contract she voluntarily signed. People seem to be forgetting that important fact in their rush to social media sites to condemn those evil men in power. This woman is no hero. She is a contract breaker who got lightly reprimanded for that fact, nothing more. I know plenty of male receptionists, and I am sure all of them wear the clothing stipulated by their contracts. – Yours, etc,
NIGEL FENNELL,
Churchtown,
Dublin 14.