Man sent home from work for wearing shorts makes comeback in a dress

One call centre employee refused to accept being sent home from work for breaking the dress code.

20-year-old Joey Barge turned up to work in smart navy shorts. Despite the current UK heatwave, his boss sent him home, deeming the tailored shorts “inappropriate”.

Barge tweeted his outfit, saying: “If women can wear skirts/dresses at work can I wear smart shorts like so?”

The next day, Barge decided to protest the ridiculous rules, arriving at the office in a colourful dress.

Predicting he’d be sent home, he was shocked to see an email from senior management, telling “gentlemen in the office” that they could now wear three-quarter length shorts in black, navy or beige.

Barge called the rule change “a partial win” but still stuck to his dress for the remainder of the working day.

“I got sent home and told to change into appropriate clothing but it said females could wear dresses so hey ho!” he told the Daily Mail.

“They said [my dress] was a bit too colourful and asked if I wanted to go home and change because they were letting us wear shorts because of my ‘protest’ – but I said I was happy to stay.”

Twitter users praised Barge for standing up to his boss and showing that men shouldn’t have to wear suits in the sweltering heat.

The Trades Union Congress (TUC) have called for employers to relax dress codes during the heatwave, asking for workplaces to let employees wear shorts and flip flops.

“While many of us will welcome the sunshine and warm temperatures this week, working in sweltering conditions can be unbearable and dangerous,” TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady commented.

“Employers can give their staff a break by relaxing dress code rules temporarily and ensuring staff doing outside work are protected. Obviously, shorts and flip flops won’t be the right attire for all workers, but no one should be made to suffer unnecessarily in the heat for the sake of appearances.’

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