Short shrift for French engineer

Cedric Monribot contemplates his future

A French electronics engineer is taking legal action to get his job back after he was sacked for wearing shorts at work during a heatwave.

The wearing of Bermuda shorts appeared the lesser of two evils

Cedric Monribot

Cedric Monribot was fired for wearing a pair of Bermuda shorts under his lab coat at the Sagem factory in Rouen, northwest France.

Women are allowed to wear shorts at the factory, Mr Monribot said.

He was told in a letter that he had discredited his employers' management and potentially damaged the electronics company's image, French TF1 television reported.

The offending item

Mr Monribot, 29, who is taking his case to an industrial tribunal, said that working conditions were difficult during the hot weather.

"The wearing of Bermuda shorts appeared the lesser of two evils, in fact, so as to feel more comfortable at work," he added.

Short order dispute

The television said that the law did not impose any sort of dress code and the company's own internal rules applied.

Mr Monribot says no work rule bans shorts

But Mr Monribot said: "There are no internal rules which ban men from wearing shorts."

Gerard Blomme, a union advisor, said companies usually cited two reasons for applying a dress code.

"There is the safety aspect, which requires the wearing of trousers or the wearing of specially-made clothes, and also the contact with customers, but that is not at all the case here," he said.

A worker at the factory, Guillaume Soret, said: "The physical appearance of someone, when they have the skills, doesn't bother me. I think it is a bit unfair, but it is not really known whether it bothered the customers."

The television said that Sagem's management did not want to comment. The hearing is due to take place in August.

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