THE QUESTION
I’m the front-of-house manager at a restaurant. One of our servers is a wonderful employee and excellent at his job. But he has been showing up for the past few weeks with really bad body odour. I’m not sure what’s behind the change, but I’m worried that it’s affecting the service we provide to our customers. Other members of my team have noticed and brought up the issue to me, so I know I’m not the only one who notices it. In the context of our work, is bad body odour a reason to reprimand an employee? What’s the best way to ask them to improve their personal hygiene and what happens if they refuse?
THE FIRST ANSWER
Christopher Gibson, senior associate, Ryan Edmonds Workplace Counsel, Toronto
Employers in Ontario are free to establish workplace policies that control how their employees dress and present themselves at work. It is quite normal in most workplaces for such policies to require that employees maintain an appropriate level of personal hygiene, which includes eliminating or reducing body odour. An employer can justifiably discipline an employee for failing to comply with a reasonable workplace dress and hygiene policy. Like any workplace policy, dress and hygiene policies should be put into writing and brought to the attention of employees when they are hired and if any changes are made to them.
The main limit on hygiene policies is the Human Rights Code. Employers must accommodate employees who are less able to control their body odour because of a protected ground. For example, body odour may be a sign the employee is experiencing a mental health episode or they may have a medical condition which causes them to sweat excessively. In these circumstances, the person would be protected from discrimination on the ground of disability.
While the awkwardness of the situation is understandable, the best approach is to talk to the employee about it. Politely mention that comments have been made about hygiene, and because the job involves close contact with customers, ask the employee to take steps to address it. But if the employee has been displaying other unusual behaviour, such as missed shifts, the employer may have a human rights obligation to be more direct with asking if there is anything else going on that they should know about.
THE SECOND ANSWER
Jamil Kara, vice-president of human resources, The Canadian Brewhouse Group, Edmonton
These are always sensitive situations, especially because this seems to be a change. Personal hygiene tends to have some subjectivity and we also need to recognize cultural differences in basic things like the use of cologne or deodorant. In my experience, conversations like this always need to be managed with the utmost sensitivity.
That said, because of the nature of this industry, the aspects of food/beverage handling and the impression that leaves on the guest, a conversation needs to happen sooner rather than later. The basics of the conversation should address the concerns brought forward by other employees and the impression the hygiene issue may have on guests.
It’s important to stress this is not performance-related and that you as the manager have recognized this change over the past few weeks. The most important part of being a server is ensuring the guest has a positive last impression to encourage repeat visits. If the guest feels that a server’s hygiene (or lack thereof) is an impression of the food quality or safety standards, how would this impact future revenue opportunities?
I believe speaking with the employee and trying to explore some solutions together to improve the situation will make a marked improvement. A conversation with the employee may also trigger some unknown information and opportunities to support the employee. If the agreed-upon solution is not implemented or attempted, then I think the manager is within their rights to explore a reprimand-type conversation grounded in policy (if the organization has one) or grounded in potential impact on current and future guests.
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