Hollister Shop assistant gets poppy ban because 'its not part of the uniform.'

Hollister banned a shop assistant from wearing a poppy at work - because it was 'not part of her uniform'. Harriet Phipps, 18, wore a poppy on her clothes as a mark of respect to the countless servicemen and women who have been killed or injured fighting for their country. But bosses at Hollister, which is part of the Abercrombie & Fitch chain, ordered the teenager to remove the poppy. Harriet works as an ‘in store model’ in West Quay in Southampton, wearing the shop’s latest fashion items to give customers an idea of how the clothes look on. But when she wore a remembrance day poppy, managers told her to remove it.

Miss Phipps said: 'I think it's disgusting, I think it's awful.I feel it's very important, it is only for two weeks so it's not permanent.It is a personal issue and I feel very strongly about it - I have a friend who is serving in Afghanistan and another friend, a girl, who is going out to fight there, as well as my granddad who fought in the war.They said that because it's not uniform or company policy, I am not allowed to wear it.I'm what is known as a model, we have to wear a uniform key look - we get a selection of clothes which we have to buy and wear to work.'

Miss Phipps, was first told to remove the poppy last Thursday and then a second time today when she ignored the ban. A member of the management refused to comment.

This is not the first time that The Abercrombie & Fitch group is infamous for its strict staff dress code.Last year it paid £9,000 in compensation to a student with a prosthetic left arm who claimed she was banished to the stockroom of one of the firm's flagship shops.

When i read this story in the daily mail it came of no surprise. I worked in Hollister in West Quay also as an 'instore model' for a couple of months and there rules were a joke i got a written warning because i was folding a jumper and didn't say 'Was up welcome to the pier' to one customer and i explained to my manager who had no manergerial experience before Hollister and she explained that missing one customer is a very serious matter at Hollister. They also were very un-understanding when i couldn't work because of university and we as the employees would have to find cover from another 'instore model' through a social networkng group page on facebook otherwise we would have to work.

It also came of no surprise that the members of management refused to comment to the Daily Mail, i also called them up to find out more and they claimed that all members of management were busy, although this is very unlikely due to the fact that they have many managers working per shift.


The full story can be read: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1327826/Hollister-shop-assistant-gets-poppy-ban-uniform.html