A snapshot of a waitress’ bloodied feet after she was forced to wear heels goes viral, sparking outrage across the internet for unfair labor practices – but her employers claim no one at the restaurant are forced to wear shoes with heels.
So, who is telling the truth?
Although the waitress herself was not identified, it was her friend who posted it on Facebook.
According to Nicola Gavins who shared the snapshot last May 3, 2016, her friend works at a Joeys Restaurant in Edmonton, Alberta (Canada).
Due to the restaurant’s policy of making their female staff wear heels “unless medically restricted”, Nicola’s friend was forced to wear heeled shoes but this caused her feet to bleed.
When the said employee complained to the manager that her feet hurt during her first day of work, she was told to buy a “nice pair of shoes”.
After all, they were not much concerned with the design as long as the employees wear heels.
Still, despite buying a Karl Lagerfeld pair, the lady’s feet still got injured and were bleeding at the end of her shift.
When she tried to wear flats to work because of her injury, she was allegedly berated by the shift manager.
The waitress ended up quitting her job.
After the snapshot of her wounded feet went viral, she was interviewed by CBC.
The 21-year-old waitress told the news agency that she was instructed by the manager to wear heels, the minimum of which is a 1-inch heel and a maximum of a 3-inch heel.
The restaurant management vehemently denies the allegations, however, claiming that their female workers can wear any footwear they want, even including wedges and flats.
The waitress, however, is in possession of a training manual that showed the heel requirement.
Customers and netizens are outraged over this issue, believing that this requirement was unfair labor practice; though some suggested that she could have chosen a heeled shoe with a different style so her toes wouldn’t be squished together, resulting to her injuries.
“Yes, but look at those stupid, pointed-toed shoes. No wonder her feet bled. Look at her feet; she already has ‘burrowing toes’ from wearing unsuitable footwear and will soon develop bunions. She could have bought wide-toed court shoes with thick heels,” Ray Sterling commented.
“It’s awful that heels are worn while waitressing as they should not be required as part of the uniform. I wear heels in a regular basis but I’m not a server. I was on my feet at an event today for six hours on a floor consistent with a reataurant’s floor. Even though I wear very good shoes that are comfortable my feet hurt!” shares Donna Douglass Groome.
“However, it’s not about finding the right shoes it’s about equality, common sense, and non discrimination in the workplace.”
(Source via cbc.ca)
