Taxi Driver Online

Not sure if this is a decent question from the councillor about enforcement, or a bit naive and the LO basically stating the obvious in response.

I mean, you'd think any licensing councillor should be broadly aware of how enforcement stuff like that works

But in terms of the dress code per se, probably not much here that regulars haven't read before, but maybe some interesting stuff about enforcement and the like...


'Scruffy' taxi drivers with baseball caps, vest tops and 'dirty clothes' face crackdown

https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north- ... s-31228911

A new Welsh Government dress code is set to be implemented

"Scruffy" taxi drivers wearing baseball caps, vest tops or faded and dirty clothing may be hit with written warnings under new licensing laws proposed by Welsh Government, a North Wales council warns.

A new code of conduct and dress code for private hire and hackney carriage drivers is set to be introduced by Welsh Government, a Conwy Council licensing committee heard yesterday.

The committee noted and adopted the Welsh Government recommendations regarding drivers’ code of conduct and dress code. Councillors were briefed on the new code of conduct, which included rules on drivers’ behaviour and vehicles being clean and tidy.

Committee members were also informed that, under the new proposed legislation, the authority could discipline drivers found to be wearing dirty clothes, shorts above the knee, or flip flops. Glan Conwy councillor Sharon Doleman asked: “Regarding the written warning, if the dress code is not adhered to, would that be given to the individual taxi driver or to the proprietor of the taxi company?

“How is this going to be enforced? Some of this is subjective, I guess. Is it going to be in forced proactively or reactively?” She added: “So are there going to be spot checks, or is it up to a customer who has noticed that a taxi driver isn't very tidy or who has got the wrong footwear on to make a complaint? Because I would imagine, just looking at this, it is quite difficult to enforce.”

Licensing officer John Donnelly said: “With regards to enforcement, a written warning would go to the driver that is the offender. We wouldn't necessarily inform their employer unless we deemed it appropriate. As is now, if a driver is offending in any way, we deal with the driver first, particularly with hackney carriages because they may be the sole proprietor. They may not work for anybody else.”

He added: “Private hire drivers may work for themselves but also be subcontracted to a private hire operator. If it was a consistent problem, we would go to the next step and probably involve the operator or employer.” He then said the council already carried out random checks to vehicles and drivers under the existing legislation.

He added: “We do random checks of an evening, daytime. We also work with school transport, so we are active on the ground, and we do inspect every vehicle and every driver within that vehicle at least twice a year.”

Acceptable clothing

• All clothing must be clean, in good condition, and free from damage
• Shorts and skirts must be no shorter than knee length
• Footwear must fit around the heel of the foot
• Hoods should not be worn over the head whilst driving
• Trousers/smart jeans
• Shirt
• Smart T-shirt
• Smart shorts
• Polo shirts
• Jumpers

Unacceptable clothing

• Clothing bearing slogans or graphics that are of an offensive/suggestive nature
• Clothing that is dirty, smelly, faded, or damaged
• Footwear such as flip flops or sliders that do not have heel straps
• Pronounced heels
• Baseball caps or other headwear that obscures the face
• Clothing that leaves the shoulders and top of the arms uncovered such as vest tops
• Clothing that does not cover the chest, stomach/midriff, such as low-cut tops or crop tops.

A draft policy including the new proposed rules is set to be presented to the licensing committee in September.

I'll have to stop wearing those cropped t-shirts on the ranks to show off my sixpack


Pretty unlikely that any private hire driver has an employer, which implies a contract of employment and PAYE etc.

And if anyone thinks I'm being pedantic here, the employment relationship question is very much about how much control the circuit exerts over its drivers, so to that extent if there's a dress code in existence, and/or the council thinks circuits can control what drivers wear on behalf of the council, then that's relevant to the extent of control, and thus the vexed employment status question

And to that extent, it's maybe pertinent here that it's the council's dress code, rather than the office's, therefore in terms of control it's more down to the former than the latter.

So maybe the, er, nexus between council regulation and circuit rules are relevant to the employment status question.

And, in that regard, if the council wants the circuit to crack the whip, then that indicates more control by the circuit, thus drivers more likely not to be self-employed.

Assuming, that is, that the employment status dimension is ever litigated or heard in court

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