UK workers go 'smart casual'

29/05/2008

UK workers are increasingly dressing down in the office, preferring smart casual clothes to traditional suits, a study by The Aziz Corporation has found.

The development consultancy revealed changing attitudes across British workplaces. It found fewer than one in four offices require workers to suit up and 12 per cent of employers let workers wear whatever they wanted.

Professor Khalid Aziz, chairman, was quick to note the relaxed dress codes did not suggest badly turned out workers.

"Far from wishing they could get away with ripped jeans and T-shirts, most employees take their professional image at work very seriously and will dress smartly by choice," he observed.

His study showed attitudes varied from job to job with the media industry the most relaxed in terms of dress regulations.

Some items of clothing, however, remained unacceptable regardless of profession. Professor Aziz advised: "As a rule, conservative clothing will always be the wiser option if boundaries are unclear."

Employment rose in the three months to January and reached 29.46 million, the highest figure since comparable records began.

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