Made a call to a large UK company that have Dutch registered trucks,that operate to and from Europe,the lady said she did`nt want scruffy drivers that were overweight and wore sports attire,that would badly represent the compamy image.Was she legally allowed to discriminate in this way?For a job application,some may have been offended.
Odd that the subject of ‘dress’ has come up - I went for a ‘pre interview chat’ with a college in anticipation of a trainee DGV NVQ A1 assessor job which may, or may not, start in September this year.
I wore smart tracky bottoms and a polo shirt and she was very pleased that I had done so and not come in shirt & tie type garb.
The reason - I would be assessing truck drivers and the presence of some shirt & tie looking muppet is likely to alienate on first impressions.
The college experience from years of NVQ assessing in many fields had taught them to have assessors that did not look (dress code wise) like the bosses as it made the assessed person feel like their boss was looking over their shoulder all the time.
I have the same view on LGV instructors - to me, and many trainees I have spoken to, said that the shirt & tie thing made them feel ‘uncomfortable’.
I have noticed that many LGV schools are now introducing a more relaxed but casually smart garb such as polo shirts.
I was joking with a mate about him being a fat trucker and telling him about the agency that i signed up with last week. they had a dress code stricter than some night clubs. they even dictated that you had to be clean shaven and any tattoos must be covered up and no jewelery either ( thats my tiara out the window then) 
I wouldn’t be supprised if they had a fat policy too! whats it comming to if you want a lorry driver rather than a stockbroker then you might have to accept the odd tattoo and beer gut 
trackies i can understand tbh, i dont ever wear them to work, jeans or dark trousers to work for me depening on the job.
as for the obese folk well probably dont want a driver whos gonna be off ill or something
imlucky with my agency thatthey allknow im heavily tattood but ive never had a problem anywhere i go, but i always walk in covered up which isnt hard. i always ask about tattoos etc and theres never a problem. i have a full sleeve so aye its not just a wee tattoo lol.
im not overweight either but i could probably do with a shave tbh lol.
I think it comes down to self pride. When I am at home and dossing around I live in my shorts and vest or tracky bottoms and t shirt if its cold.
When I go to work I wear hard wearing trousers or jeans and a polo shirt with polished boots and always clean shaven (20 years in the military does that to you).
But… there is always a but,
if I am in the cab and travelling up the line on a 7-8 hour drive I will throw on a pair of shorts if its warm or tracky bottoms, thin t-shirt and my trainers as they are more comfortable to drive in and I don’t intend to have to get them dirty either but before I get to the customer I will pull over and change back into my trousers and polo shirt and put my boots back on. I know it wastes about 3 minutes of the companies time but it is a good image and that nowadays is what a lot of companies will look for.
Anyway back to the original it is a bit sizeist and against us larger people so if you go for an interview you either wear a corset or drink slim fast for the months leading up to it. I wouldn’t think twice about employing a large person if they were the most suitable for the job. Nine times out of ten the larger people are more of a laugh and just get on with it, it’s the 4ft tall people that will raise my suspicions. I.e. small person syndrome!!!
Perhaps VOSA should double as the ‘Fashion police’
Vehicle
Operater
Suitable
Attire
im off to get tailored for an armani boiler suit and buy some jimmy choo steel toe caps 
Giblsa:
I think it comes down to self pride. When I am at home and dossing around I live in my shorts and vest or tracky bottoms and t shirt if its cold.When I go to work I wear hard wearing trousers or jeans and a polo shirt with polished boots and always clean shaven (20 years in the military does that to you).
But… there is always a but,
if I am in the cab and travelling up the line on a 7-8 hour drive I will throw on a pair of shorts if its warm or tracky bottoms, thin t-shirt and my trainers as they are more comfortable to drive in and I don’t intend to have to get them dirty either but before I get to the customer I will pull over and change back into my trousers and polo shirt and put my boots back on. I know it wastes about 3 minutes of the companies time but it is a good image and that nowadays is what a lot of companies will look for.
Anyway back to the original it is a bit sizeist and against us larger people so if you go for an interview you either wear a corset or drink slim fast for the months leading up to it. I wouldn’t think twice about employing a large person if they were the most suitable for the job. Nine times out of ten the larger people are more of a laugh and just get on with it, it’s the 4ft tall people that will raise my suspicions. I.e. small person syndrome!!!
oh yea, dont like midgets me, lol
Well always wondered why the agency asked me to wear a full face balaclava when they sent me to certain jobs It must have been because of the facial tattoos i’ve got 
davepenn54:
Well always wondered why the agency asked me to wear a full face balaclava when they sent me to certain jobs
lucky you, i just got given a brown paper bag to wear - had to cut my own eye holes out of it.
Limits your vision somewhat when driving but hey ho 
Hey cutie - nice bag
I weigh 15 stones and a bit but havent missed a days work through illness for more than 17 years.Some of my workmates are likewise .We should not all be tarred with the same brush.A collar and tie is inappropriate on a lorry driver,especially if he hand balls and doe a lot of bending and lifting the tie gets in the way.
ROG:
shirt & tie type garb.The reason - I would be assessing truck drivers and the presence of some shirt & tie looking muppet is likely to alienate on first impressions.
I have noticed that many LGV schools are now introducing a more relaxed but casually smart garb such as polo shirts.
Rog, I always wear a collar and tie to work even though I am on the agency I feel and look like a professional so I take you are against professional people. In these uncertain times to dress smartly for work will put you into a different league therefore just by doing this you may survive the downturn. I have noticed a definate increase in my bookings even asked to be the first in on new contracts ect. We have a problem in the industry we are trying to get a better name for ourselves and in my books this starts with our appearance so glad that some companies are aware of this.
Rant over
Taxi please…
Take me to the air raid shelter please!!!
QUICKLY!!!
you get a few of the morrison drivers out of bellshill wearing a shirt and tie and taypack drivers wears ties but other than them, i cant recall anyone else - its not for me im afraid as i seem to get all the handballs 
Mad dan:
so I take you are against professional people.
Certainly not - smart by casual for CERTAIN professions is sometimes a better option.
I think a lot depends on who a person is likely to be dealing with.
It all comes down to personal perceptions but those perceptions can sometimes be misleading - a group of youths in my city went around with stanley knives and did real damage to others and they were very smartly dressed - three piece suits, the works…
peter mill:
Made a call to a large UK company that have Dutch registered trucks,that operate to and from Europe,the lady said she did`nt want scruffy drivers that were overweight and wore sports attire,that would badly represent the compamy image.Was she legally allowed to discriminate in this way?For a job application,some may have been offended.
You can take it that they don’t provide a uniform for their employees then? Tescos offer their staff a choice, amongst other things cargo pants and polo shirts are offered. I’ll bet that they don’t state they don’t want overweight people in their job advert.
at our firm we dont have a uniform policy aslong as we have our P.P.E (i.e; steel toe caps, hard hat, adr kit, etc) i wear combat type bottoms and a t-shirt of some sort, i always drive in trainers but have my boots in the locker just incase !
as for people being fat, im not fat but am not skinny, im just a big lad, i personally dont think it should matter about wieght difference because as said in another post if the candidate is right for the job then employ them regardless of what he/she looks like
Personally, I can never understand why anyone is overweight. If my truck needs 300 litres of diesel, I don’t put 500 litres in.
I sacked a driver once for being too fat:
He wasn’t just a bit overweight though - the steering wheel disappeared into his gut when he was driving and we considered it a danger that he wasn’t in proper control. This was for the Health Authority and we did everything by the book.
First he was given advice by a nutritionist and given six months to demonstrate that he was losing weight. Then he was suspended on full pay for a month to have a final effort. Then he was dismissed.
Santa:
I sacked a driver once for being too fat:He wasn’t just a bit overweight though - the steering wheel disappeared into his gut when he was driving and we considered it a danger that he wasn’t in proper control. This was for the Health Authority and we did everything by the book.
First he was given advice by a nutritionist and given six months to demonstrate that he was losing weight. Then he was suspended on full pay for a month to have a final effort. Then he was dismissed.
You might get flamed for that post but not from me- the driver obviously had mental health issues.