Uniforms

donna.s · 28-10-2010 7:43pm #1

Hey everyone
I recently got a job working for a clothing store that is opening here soon. I had my induction day yesterday and we were told that we have to wear head to toe (well, any footwear) clothes that are from that store. I know this is common is fashion retail but the thing is we only get a 10% staff discount and no uniform allowance like many other stores give their staff.
The job pays just over min wage and i have a 2 hour commute each way every day which is not their problem I know, but it costs me 23 euro just to get to work. I'm really worrying about how I will make ends meet. Is there any way I can claim back the money I have to use to buy work clothes? They want us wearing clothes that are still on trend/on sale in the store and they get delivery 6 days a week so as you can imagine the stock will be changing a lot and we'll have to buy clothes often..
Any advice appreciated

wmpdd3 · 29-10-2010 3:21pm

That is so bad.

You're right, the usually is 25% staff discount and 75%of a certain amount for staff uniform.

It is the store that will suffer as anything you wear will be questioned by customers and if it's not in stock or is from another store it will cause annoyance.

It's bad for the store too as they will have to discipline staff they have invested on training.

The main thing is to not be wearing sale items so go for tops that are on trend but basic as they are less likely to be discounted quickly. If full time 2 bottoms may do and 3 tops may do.

Buy one outfit as soon as you can (1st pay check) to show you are keen and try make that last as long as possible, they may change their policy.

Your manager will probably be from another high street brand that had uniform allowance so sit tight and see if they do offer a bigger discount in the future.

You can claim expenses in the form of a tax credit, I think I got €400 for the year, but really you have to really be earning alot for this to make any difference.

Hope this is still the case, can't find a link for it...I thought it was here:
http://www.revenue.ie/en/tax/it/leaflets/it1.html#section17

donna.s · 29-10-2010 5:56pm

Hey thanks for the reply
the company are huge in the USA and this will be their first Irish store. In their Canadian stores staff can wear any brand of clothes so long as there's no
visible logos.
There are a few different managers/co managers/assistant managers who all mentioned they worked in stores like h&m,river island, etc. But they were firm about the 10% discount and no uniform allowance.
We're still settIng up the store so we can wear our own clothes but 2 days before we open we have to buy our uniform clothes (we don't get paid until the end of that month) I am full time so I'll have to buy quite a lot of clothes, I don't think they will be happy if we show up in the same outfit every second or third day (I wish I could as it would cost me less)

donna.s · 29-10-2010 5:57pm

Also I doubt the staff discount will be changed, the company has been around since the 80s and rhe discount is the same in over 500 stores worldwide sadly

the USA/Canada stores are luckier though as they can wear any clothes brand they wan. (just no logos)

borderlinemeath · 29-10-2010 9:05pm

Are the prices similar to the US stores? If so it's cheap and cheerful..

Surely you can wear your own say, black leggings so a few jersey tops/ shirts accessorised with different scarves to give a different look from the same items.
How would they be able to tell their denims if you wore something long enough to cover the back pockets/logos etc.

I know I had to wear a staff uniform for my last job, but none of the trousers fitted me as I'm a short arse so I was allowed get away with plain black trousers/leggings.

donna.s · 29-10-2010 10:55pm

Not really. A product that is $30 will be about €28.50. Not an exact conversion. Some items will just have a changed sign (eg $9.50-€9.50) it is cheap enough but I'm working to pay my bills, not pay to work there if that makes sense.

We're not allowed wear any products from other stores except footwear. We asked if we could mix and match and were told no. Another girl said "what if we wore something from another store..how would you know" and she said that they'd recognize if it was from our store or not. If we don't have appropriate uniform when we arrive to work we can buy somethig from the store at our own expense or go home and change, they're really strict about it.

I'm short and always wear petite length in trousers but theirs all come in one length which will be a problem for me. I can wear skirts/dresses but as I'm a size 16-18 Ill have to shop in the "plus size" section which isn't as nice as the normal range and it'll be tricky finding things that are actually my style. If there was some way to claim back some of the expenses I wouldn't mind so much

tenchi-fan · 30-10-2010 11:39am

I was in jobs before (not fashion) where I had to buy black trousers, white shirts, black shoes, etc, as part of a uniform so it's not really a big deal that you're being asked to dress at some expense to yourself.

They cannot force you to buy new clothes every season to keep up with their range. If I were you I'd buy the cheapest, plainest trousers and tops from their sale items and make them my uniform. Throw on some jewellery from the store too and you're sorted.

Keep the clothes clean and after a year if they are faded replace them. Tell the store manager you will be happy to wear seasonal stock if it is provided at the company's expense.

You are not entitled to any tax deduction on these clothes whereas the company would be if they were provided at the company's expense, so I see no reason for you to be out of pocket.

MagicMarker · 30-10-2010 11:53am

If that were me I'd buy 2 pairs of the same trousers and a few plain t-shirts, and that would be it until they were literally falling off me.

donna.s · 30-10-2010 12:26pm

Thanks for the replies guys. They stressed that our "uniforms" need to be stylish and current season clothes. If I thought I could get away with wearing clothes from the basics section I would but they want us dressed up very stylish

I'm afraid that if I show up in similar clothes every day that they would find a reason to fire me since the contract said I'm on 3 mo probation and they can fire me without notice during that time

MagicMarker · 30-10-2010 12:28pm

donna.s wrote: »

Thanks for the replies guys. They stressed that our "uniforms" need to be stylish and current season clothes. If I thought I could get away with wearing clothes from the basics section I would but they want us dressed up very stylish I'm afraid that if I show up in similar clothes every day that they would find a reason to fire me since the contract said I'm on 3 mo probation and they can fire me without notice during that time

Ignore them, just buy what you can afford and make it last. If they sack you after 3 months because your clothes aren't ''seasonal'' or expensive enough then you're better off tbh.

donna.s · 30-10-2010 1:06pm

I see your point and I do agree but having spent a long time on the dole already at only 20 years old I really don't want to end up back on it, that's why I'm stressing so much about this.

I guess I'm f#cked if there's no way to claim back any of the expenses

tenchi-fan · 30-10-2010 1:47pm

op, have you noticed what existing staff members wear?
and what does your contract say about this policy?

borderlinemeath · 30-10-2010 1:50pm

donna.s wrote: »

Not really. A product that is $30 will be about €28.50. Not an exact conversion. Some items will just have a changed sign (eg $9.50-€9.50) it is cheap enough but I'm working to pay my bills, not pay to work there if that makes sense.

We're not allowed wear any products from other stores except footwear. We asked if we could mix and match and were told no. Another girl said "what if we wore something from another store..how would you know" and she said that they'd recognize if it was from our store or not. If we don't have appropriate uniform when we arrive to work we can buy somethig from the store at our own expense or go home and change, they're really strict about it.

I'm short and always wear petite length in trousers but theirs all come in one length which will be a problem for me. I can wear skirts/dresses but as I'm a size 16-18 Ill have to shop in the "plus size" section which isn't as nice as the normal range and it'll be tricky finding things that are actually my style. If there was some way to claim back some of the expenses I wouldn't mind so much

There has to be some kind of leeway if you don't fit into the trousers!

I do see your point but I would try and get through your 3 month probation, which will mainly be based on your ability to do the job rather than your appearance.

Why not ask friends and family to buy you Jervis St/One4All gift vouchers for Christmas instead of gifts that you don't want or need - get through the probation and get some nice clothes in the process.

I reckon it will calm down slightly once the store is up and running - of course they want the staff to make a good impression on their customers, but I would put it to the management that if the trousers don't fit then they have to make exceptions - other companies do.

donna.s · 30-10-2010 2:13pm

tenchi-fan wrote: »

op, have you noticed what existing staff members wear?
and what does your contract say about this policy?

the store hasn't opened here yet, we're still setting it up. In the USA staff wear trendy clothes but not always from the brand. I'm not sure why the rules were changed for the Europe stores.

the contract basically says that you must be dressed in their clothes and if you show up to work in other brands or an outfit that they are not happy with you have 2 options, go home and change (I'm a 2hr train journey away) or buy clothes from the store and change there. Those costs are our own expense..

tenchi-fan · 30-10-2010 4:00pm

donna.s wrote: »

the store hasn't opened here yet, we're still setting it up. In the USA staff wear trendy clothes but not always from the brand. I'm not sure why the rules were changed for the Europe stores.
the contract basically says that you must be dressed in their clothes and if you show up to work in other brands or an outfit that they are not happy with you have 2 options, go home and change (I'm a 2hr train journey away) or buy clothes from the store and change there. Those costs are our own expense..

They're probably just conscious of their staff looking their best if it's a new store opening.

If I were you I'd buy an outfit from the shop (you might as well, most people buy new clothes for work anyway) - something respectable and plain that won't date or go out of season.

Over time you can gauge how strict they are about what you wear. You will probably be able to get away with wearing plain tops from other stores underneath a jacket.

If they force you to buy new clothes, leave the tags on and return them at the end of your shift.

borderlinemeath · 30-10-2010 4:49pm

tenchi-fan wrote: »

They're probably just conscious of their staff looking their best if it's a new store opening.

If I were you I'd buy an outfit from the shop (you might as well, most people buy new clothes for work anyway) - something respectable and plain that won't date or go out of season.

Over time you can gauge how strict they are about what you wear. You will probably be able to get away with wearing plain tops from other stores underneath a jacket.

If they force you to buy new clothes, leave the tags on and return them at the end of your shift.

Seriously - that's the worst advice I've ever heard!:eek:

Donna.s is worried about making a good impression with her new employer and you are encouraging her to do something which I guarantee is against their company policy - and is probably considered fraud in their book.

donna.s · 30-10-2010 5:03pm

Even *if* i wanted to do that (which I wouldn't, it's not worth risking my job) I couldn't, anything bought with our staff discount cannot be returned

tenchi-fan · 30-10-2010 6:36pm

borderlinemeath wrote: »

Seriously - that's the worst advice I've ever heard!:eek:

oops. was actually joking on that bit! It's the kind of thing you'd love to do

UMMMM · 31-10-2010 2:02pm

It is common practice for retailers to make you wear their clothes and it will have to be current. I have never worked anywhere where it was acceptable to wear sale. The discount is very low in comparison to other hight street retailers but then so are the prices you are quoting. As a retail manager one of the most annoying things to have to pull people up on is uniform tedious and boring. My "advice" would be buy all black uniform trousers cardis etc and accessorize to the last its easy lots of braclets and then its winter so a few bright scaves that you interchange. Also if you are really worried about the cost buy just two outfits but don't travel in them get changed at work keeping them "nice" for work.

Uniforms

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