British Columbia bans mandatory high heels in the workplace

VANCOUVER — Employers are no longer allowed to require their employees to wear high heels in the workplace in British Columbia.

The provincial government has amended the existing footwear regulation of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation. The amendment ensures workplace footwear is of a design, construction and material that allows the worker to safely perform their duties.

The new section of the regulation requires employers to consider all recognizable hazards when creating a footwear dress code.

“In some workplaces in our province, women are required to wear high heels on the job. Like most British Columbians, our government thinks this is wrong,” Premier Christy Clark said in a statement. “That is why we’re changing this regulation to stop this unsafe and discriminatory practice and adding an enforcement element by WorkSafeBC.”

The issue of mandatory high heels in the workplace was raised on International Women’s Day when Green Party of British Columbia leader Andrew Weaver introduced a Private Members’ bill that would ban gender specific footwear from the workplace.

The bill earned international media attention and support from all parties in the legislature. To put that into perspective, a bill that would protect puppies, introduced around the same time as the footwear bill, garnered some negative feedback due to the way it was introduced.

“You know if a bill you introduced gets more support than a bill on puppies, you’re onto something,” Weaver said. “Clearly it struck a nerve.”

Despite widespread attention, Weaver’s bill died when the legislature adjourned in March for the upcoming May election. Instead, the current Liberal government was able to make changes to regulations rather than enforcing a ban though legislation. 

“This change will let employers know that the most critical part of an employee’s footwear is that it is safe. I expect employers to recognize this very clear signal that forcing someone to wear high heels at work is unacceptable,” Minister of Labour Shirley Bond said in a statement.

Weaver drafted the bill after reading an article on the subject in thetyee.ca.

“After I read it, I couldn’t believe this was still a thing; employers requiring employees to wear high heels,” Weaver said. “It’s well known long-term prolonged use of high heels can have serious implications for foot and back conditions.”

He added heels also create immediate safety concerns.

“If you’re walking around a floor, that perhaps has some oil on it, it’s not exactly safe,” Weaver said.

The original bill proposed no longer allowing any class of employment to require specific footwear based on gender.

“That means an employer could require everybody to wear high heels, men and women,” Weaver said. “We all know if men wore high heels, they’d be on for about five minutes before they started getting thrown around the room. This is not going to happen. This essentially puts an end to the practice here in B.C.”

Weaver explained forced footwear is a problem in British Columbia’s bars and restaurants.

“I don’t want to out any individual chain, restaurant or bar, but there are places that required it,” he said. “It happens in other sectors as well. Restaurants and bars are particularly concerning because people are on their feet for an awful long time.”

Weaver added he believes the issue of high heels being forced upon employees has never been previously addressed, as many people don’t know it’s a requirement.

“We all know, many young people start off with their first job in the restaurant industry, but they don’t stay there forever,” he said. “This is an issue many people have experienced, but they’re not still in the industry. So it’s not continually pressing on a daily basis.”