It is only natural that your client will want staff to maintain a good standard of personal hygiene to present the best possible image for their business. However, having a conversation with an employee about their poor personal hygiene can be difficult, with many employers choosing to avoid this altogether.
It is important that your client does not put off addressing this matter, not only to protect the reputation of their business but because this could quickly develop into a bullying and harassment situation against the employee in question.
It will be a significant help to your client if they already have a policy in place which outlines the company’s rules on personal hygiene. Usually, these rules will be included within a dress code policy and typical requirements will be for employees to maintain a ‘professional appearance’ or for hair and nails to remain ‘clean and tidy’. Having an appropriate policy in place will provide you with the framework to take further action against staff who fail to adhere to these requirements.
As the problem is unlikely to resolve itself your client should arrange to hold a private informal meeting the employee in question. It is important that your client handles this conversation in a sensitive and confidential manner to avoid embarrassing the employee, taking this opportunity to express their concerns and ask that the employee improve their personal hygiene for the benefit of the organisation.
At the same time, your client should look to understand the situation in more detail, as in some instances poor personal hygiene may relate to a medical condition that could qualify as a disability. In these situations, your client should consider reasonable adjustments could be made to alleviate the problem, including a change to the working environment or uniform materials. A sudden deterioration in personal hygiene may also be an indication of depression. If this is the case your client should consider how a brief period of leave or access to an Employee Assistance Programme may help.
Whilst personal hygiene can be an awkward subject your client should look to tackle this quickly and confidentially to avoid any damaging consequences. At the same time, they should try to gain an understanding of any underlying issues and provide appropriate assistance where necessary.
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