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Expectations regarding employees' personal appearance at work have softened significantly over the past few years, and organisations that try to impose strict standards will feel their backlash, a lawyer says.

The pandemic "definitely accelerated" a "casualisation" in the way that people present themselves at work, Ashurst counsel Talia Firth tells HR Daily.

The increase in remote and hybrid working has made employees realise that they can "still look presentable without being uncomfortable"; they also feel like they have "way more freedom" to dress in a way that expresses their personality, within the bounds of what's appropriate for their particular workplace, she says.

This has resulted in a "gradual shift" towards more relaxed dress code policies – for the most part...