South Yorkshire MP slams 'sexist' dress codes
Gill Furniss says her daughter suffered foot injury from wearing heels
The MP for Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough has revealed how her daughter suffered a fractured foot after she was forced to wear high heels at work.
Gill Furniss said her daughter was denied sick pay or compensation after suffering a metatarsal fracture, the same injury that put David Beckham out of the 2002 World Cup.
She was speaking during a debate in Parliament about sexist dress codes in the workplace, sparked by a receptionist sent home for refusing to wear high heels.
The Labour MP hit out at employers who force women to put up with “humiliating and degrading'' dress codes - saying some women are told they must wear a full face'' of make-up and are “even told which shade of red'' to wear on their lips.
“We know that in some professions, standing in high heels for a period of an eight-hour shift is the norm,” she said,
“Wearing heels in this way often causes foot pain, bunions, skin lesions, lower limb pathology and other related discomforts for the heel-wearer.
“In fact, my own daughter suffered from a metatarsal fracture, which is more commonly affiliated with sports injuries, when she was forced to wear high heels in a former retail job.
“Quite literally adding insult to injury, she was denied any compensation or sick pay as she wasn't on the payroll for long enough.
“Needless to say, she did not return to this type of work, but not everyone has that choice.''
The Equalities Minister said employers must review their dress codes to reform any offices retaining a dodgy 1970s workplace diktat''.
Caroline Dinenage spoke out against outdated and sexist'' employment practices uncovered after more than 150,000 people signed a petition to outlaw discriminatory workplace dress codes.
London receptionist Nicola Thorp launched the petition last year when she was sent home from work after she refused to wear high heels.
A subsequent investigation by the Petitions Committee and the Women and Equalities Committee found that women have been told to dye their hair and wear revealing clothes.
Ms Dinenage said she had written to key trade bodies to say that women should not be expected to wear things that cause discomfort or expense when male colleagues did not have to.