Posted By bill strachan1 What is going on here? I was rather enjoying this thread

Posted By M Bastone While I was reading this thread a young lady just popped into the office. I explained the subject under discussion and she commented that she once had a nasty accident involving high heels and dangly earrings, but didn't elaborate. sounded painful though ;-) What a great subject to start the week with! thanks.

Posted By mark limon How typical of this site,there seems to be always somebody sat poised waiting to critisize,nitpick or find offence where none is meant.There are far more serious issues today to get offended by I for one will defend a 5ft 10" slim blonde womens right to wear high heels with my life(especially in a pencil skirt) Now what was I talking about,minds drifting, :-)

Posted By ClaireL Men!!! .....that is a joke by the way!

Posted By Bernie Woods What a great thread, some good humour and some serious points as well Claire you sound like my kind of girl (in a non-sexist way of course!), gents, women have had to endure (and still do) far worse than that for years, a little light hearted banter in both directions can do wonders for morale and particularly on a professional website where I'd like to think we're all a little above getting prissy. On a serious note, one part of my business tried to introduce a footwear policy for office staff and let me assure you it is an absolute minefield. Unless you are very prescriptive in what employees are allowed wear you can seriously tie yourself in knots (as an aside, if you ban certain footwear on the grounds of RA does that then open up issues of PPE regs for the footwear you allow?). My choice here is to try a behavioural approach. If you believe someone is wearing something which may affect their H&S and it's not covered by specific workplace rules, approach them, discuss it with them, see if there are alternatives. May save a lot of time effort and IR issues. B

Posted By Jim Walker Fun tho' this all is. I really do see where Tabs is coming from. I've made light hearted cracks about women on this forum and have been howled down by those who did not appreciate my "humour". Cake & eat it, if you ask me.

Posted By Amandac Thought I would put my pennyworth in. In all the places I have worked we have ADVISED the employee to wear suitable footwear for the environment and consult the risk assessment when moving into another area. Purhaps that doesn't answer the question, however should an employee, (male or female) have an accident wearing 'heels' or inapprorpiate footwear this will come out in the accident investigation and they will have to take responsibility for it.

Posted By TBC Type of footwear and the condition of the footwear is just one of the things I would look at following an accident be it in an office or out on a site.

Posted By Andrew Meiklejohn High heel shoes cause forefoot compression injuries such as neuroma. Wearing high heels also concentrates abnormal forces on the ankle and rear foot resulting in increased wear and tear. In addition to long-recognized foot problems, they can affect the body’s center of gravity and change it’s alignment, negatively affecting posture, back support and joint pressure. High heeled shoes have recently been found to cause knee joint stress and are likely to contribute to knee osteoarthritis (Kerrigan, 2003). Studies found that heels as short as 2-inches increased knee strain by 23 percent compared to walking barefoot. They can also increase the incidence of musculoskeletal disorders. By altering the position of the heel in relation to the ball of the foot. This, in turn, results in an alteration to the posture in order to maintain balance. This alteration promotes excessive use of the muscles in the lower back. It should be noted that this does not just occur whilst standing and walking but also in the seated position as the heel cannot be placed in the correct position to allow proper back support from chairs. Moreover, wearing high heels also causes an alteration to a persons gait, and reduces the amount of traction available, thereby increasing the chance of slips trips and falls. This is in addition, to the reduction in traction caued by the lack contact.

Posted By TBC Thanks for that Andrew - mine are going straight in the bin :-0

Posted By Wendi Gibson I wore high heels for over 20 years, usually the 4-5 inch variety of stiletto. Whilst I was able to do most things in them and never fell off them, I developed a problem with my heels and have damaged my back (though this may not be directly the result of wearing high heels it certainly aggravated the condition). Whilst I would not dream of telling anyone what to wear in their private lives, I have asked the ladies who work in the office to wear lower heels and more appropriate shoes at work. One or two have kept their work shoes in their bottom drawer and change when they arrive at work and back to high heels when they leave. And on the shop floor the rule is safety boots/shoes only. And for the record, sexism as with any -ism should be a 2 way street.