字神帝國英語天地

London receptionist 'sent home for not wearing heels
　　
◕ A London receptionist was sent home from work after refusing to wear high heels, it has emerged.
近日，一名倫敦接待員因拒穿高跟鞋而被打發回家。
Temp worker Nicola Thorp, 27, from Hackney, arrived at finance company PwC to be told she had to wear shoes with a "2in to 4in heel".
來自倫敦東部哈克尼區的27歲臨時工尼古拉•索普到金融公司PwC（普華永道）上班，卻被告知她必須穿鞋跟高度在2英寸到4英寸的高跟鞋。
When she refused and complained male colleagues were not asked to do the same, she was sent home without pay.
當她拒穿高跟鞋並抱怨公司沒有對男同事做出同樣要求時，公司一分錢沒給就把她打發回家了。
　　
◕ Ms Thorp said she would have struggled to work a full day in high heels and had asked to wear the smart flat shoes she had worn to the office in Embankment.
索普女士說，穿高跟鞋工作一整天太痛苦，所以她要求穿自己在堤壩站的工作地點穿的時髦的平底鞋。
But instead she was told she should go and buy a pair of heels on her first day, back in December.
然而，在去年12月份她上班的第一天，她卻被告知她應該去買一雙高跟鞋來穿。
"I said 'if you can give me a reason as to why wearing flats would impair me to do my job today, then fair enough', but they couldn't," Ms Thorp told BBC.
索普女士告訴BBC說：“我說‘如果你們能給我一個理由，告訴我為什麼穿平底鞋會妨礙我今天做我的工作，那我才服氣’，但是他們說不出理由。”
　　
◕ "I was expected to do a nine-hour shift on my feet escorting clients to meeting rooms. I said 'I just won't be able to do that in heels'."
“我本來要走來走去地值9個小時的班，陪同客戶到會議室去。我說‘我穿高跟鞋沒法站那麼久’。”
Ms Thorp said she asked if a man would be expected to do the same shift in heels, and was laughed at.
索普女士說，她當時發問，公司是否也指望一個男人穿著高跟鞋來值同樣的班，結果被嘲笑了。
She then spoke to friends about what had happened, and after posting on Facebook realised that other women had found themselves in the same position.
她把發生的事情告訴了朋友，還在Facebook上發帖，這時她才意識到其他女性的處境也和她一樣。
She has since set up a petition calling for the law to be changed so women cannot be forced to wear high heels to work. It has had more than 10,000 signatures, so the government will now have to respond.
從那以後她就發起了一個請願活動，要求修改法律，讓女性不必被迫穿高跟鞋上班。請願書上的簽名已經超過1萬個，所以政府現在不得不做出回應。
　　
◕ As the law stands, employers can dismiss staff who fail to live up to "reasonable" dress code demands, as long as they've been given enough time to buy the right shoes and clothes.
根據現行法律，雇主可以解雇不遵守“合理”的著裝規範的員工，只要給了他們足夠的時間去購買合適的鞋子和衣服。
They can set up different codes for men and women, as long as there's an "equivalent level of smartness".
公司可以給男性和女性設定不同的著裝規範，只要男女著裝“同樣精神”就行。
"I think dress codes should reflect society and nowadays women can be smart and formal and wear flat shoes." Ms Thorp said.
索普女士說：“我認為著裝規範應該反映出社會環境，現如今女性穿平底鞋也可以時髦又正式。”
"Aside from the debilitating factor, it's the sexism issue. I think companies shouldn't be forcing that on their female employees."
“除了穿高跟鞋折磨人之外，還有性別歧視問題。我認為公司不應該強迫女員工穿高跟鞋。”
　　
【Vocabulary】
◆ temp worker: 臨時工
◆ debilitate: 使衰弱；使虛弱

文章來源：女接待員因拒穿高跟鞋被打發回家