With the General Election looming, office chat can often take a decidedly more political route than usual. However, whilst there’s nothing wrong with a good natured airing of opinion, there are instances when demonstrations of political allegiances are best left for outside of office hours.
Is it OK for an employee to display their party colours by wearing a politically endorsed t-shirt or badge to work? And what about displaying a party banner at their workstation? Can an employer prohibit these types of activities? Our Head of Employment Law at Howells Solicitors explains the dos and don’ts.
Politics in the Workplace
An employer has the right to enforce a dress code that it feels appropriate in the work place, and this means they can prohibit the use of items of clothing that support political parties. These guidelines should be set out in the company’s dress code or even in a policy on political activities in the work place.
Generally employers may feel the need to enforce a policy that prohibits politically endorsed items from being worn in the work place, particularly by members of staff who are ‘public-facing’. This will avoid creating an impression that the company is endorsing a particular political view.
With regard to the Equality Act 2010 (the Act), which protects people from discrimination on the grounds of nine protected characteristics including belief, it is unlikely that an employee prohibited from displaying their support for a particular political party would constitute it as a ‘belief’. However, a belief based on a political philosophy could potentially be covered by the Act. Even so, a claim for discrimination made on this basis is likely to fail if the employer can show that all employees are prohibited from displaying items in support for a political party in order to avoid disruption, harassment and intimidation
Writing a Political Activity Policy
It would be beneficial for all companies to have in place a policy on political activities in the work place which sets out clear terms on what is considered to be appropriate conduct. This would help avoid any potential disputes between employees who may have opposing political views.
This policy should state that employees are not to engage in any form of political activity during working hours and that company facilities such as photocopiers should not be used for the purpose of political campaigning. The policy should also make clear that employees should not carry out any sort of activity that would suggest that the company supports a particular political party or political view.
Employees should also be reminded that any conduct in breach of this policy could be deemed as harassment or intimidation of fellow colleagues and would be addressed under the company’s disciplinary procedure.
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