Mum fuming as she’s told hair is ‘unprofessional’ – but co-workers’ tattoos are allowed

A mum was left outraged when she was told to dye her hair after her red locks were deemed ‘unprofessional’ – but her colleagues with tattoos have gone unpunished

It’s not uncommon for a workplace to have rules in place when it comes to uniforms, and among the most common things some places put bans on include certain jewellery, “unnatural” hair colours, and tattoos that aren’t covered up by clothing. But one woman has been left furious after she was reprimanded at her workplace for having red hair – because she claims the rules around uniforms are inconsistent.

The woman said the uniform standards at her work indicate that “unnatural colours and extreme hairstyles” aren’t permitted, but say nothing about people with tattoos. And while she’s been told to change her bright red locks to a more subtle shade because it’s “unprofessional”, several of her colleagues are allowed to have their inkings on show.

She fumed in a post on Mumsnet : “My red hair is ‘unprofessional’ but tattoos aren’t! I work in a uniformed role in the UK, uniform standards say ‘conspicuously ‘unnatural’ colours (e.g. pink) and extreme hairstyles are not allowed.’ I am spitting feathers! My hair is L’Oréal Preference Bright Red, and yes, it’s bright.”

The woman added in further comments that she doesn’t believe she should be told off for having red hair as it’s not an “unnatural” colour, and said she’d had the bright style for several months before she was reprimanded for it.

She added: “The policy said ‘eg. Pink’, but 3 years ago it said ‘eg. pink or blue’. 2% of the world’s population have red hair – it’s not unnatural.

“There is no rule against colouring hair, as far as I know, that has always been permitted. The paragraph is specific in that it should not be ‘unnatural’ therefore I have never dyed it pink or blue as the rules require.

“I have asked that I be provided with swatches of acceptable hair colours. It has been this colour for at least a couple of months – I change it quite frequently.

“As a bit of history, I come from a family of extreme redheads and have always been gutted that I missed out, hence resorting to artificial (not unnatural) colours for at least the last 30 years.”

Commenters on the post lacked sympathy for the mum though, as many of them insisted that “rules are rules” and told her to dye her hair a lighter colour that wouldn’t break the uniform guidelines for her workplace.

One person stated: “I don’t really understand the issue. The uniform rules say don’t have unnatural hair. You have unnatural hair. I don’t understand what tattoos have to do with it.”

While another wrote: “Dye it a lighter colour? Not really an issue.”

And a third said: “Rules are rules. Just dye it a less bright shade. It’s honestly not worth the bother and the policies are clear on unnatural hair colours.”

But some did agree with her, saying they felt it was “odd” to ban any hair colour on the grounds of it being “unprofessional”.

Someone noted: “I always find this odd. How is red hair unprofessional? I’ve worked with people who were dirty, smelly, and extremely unkempt looking but they were never pulled up on it despite being in a customer-facing role. Yet pink hair was a massive deal “

As someone else said: “Personally I don’t think any employer should be able to dictate appearance, beyond specifying no offensive clothing, being clean and tidy, and wearing a uniform if they have it. “I don’t even like it when schools pull this s**t. Hair colour has no impact on a person’s ability to do their job.”

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