Employers who guard their image too zealously could face discrimination claims

Many businesses, retailers in particular, wish to portray an image that reflects their brand. But there are dangers in this approach being imposed inflexibly on employees. In two recent incidents, employees have found themselves in conflict with their employers for failing to conform to the brand image.

Example 1 When Danielle Snellgrove started work at upmarket clothing chain TM Lewin, she was told her Salford accent did not fit the store's image. She eventually resigned after being told to go to John Lewis to find out how she should speak, and to a McDonald’s restaurant to see how she should not. If the comments about Snellgrove’s accent had been linked to her nationality, they could have been discriminatory.