Female BA cabin crew win the right to wear trousers at work

Female cabin crew have won the right to swap out their skirts following a tense two-year battle between the airline and workers' union, Unite. All workers are now allowed to cover their legs following the end of the former dress code, which dictated that certain female employees must wear skirts unless exempt on religious or medical grounds. The antiquated rule only applied to staff employed since 2012 in what the airline calls its "mixed fleet", which accounts for 3000 of BA's 17,000 cabin crew. "Our mixed fleet team wear the 'ambassador' British Airways uniform. While trousers are not a standard part of this uniform, colleagues wishing to wear them can request this through their manager," a BA spokesperson said. Trousers for women were included in the cabin crew uniform designed by Julien McDonald in 2001, however it was "not within the mixed fleet vision for female crew to wear trousers", BA said. However the airline decided to back down after a Unite poll found 83% of its members supported the option to wear trousers.<br/>