A newly formed alliance, The Halo Collection, has launched the Halo Code, the UK’s first Black hair code for workplaces to prevent discrimination based on hair style or texture.

Race-based hair discrimination has been illegal in the UK since the Equality Act became law in 2010, but it seems it is still a frequent problem. For example, according to research by World Afro Day and De Montfort University, one in five Black women feel pressure to straighten their hair for work.

Dress codes are common in many workplaces and for black employees this can mean choosing their career over their cultural identity or even the health of their hair. The Halo Code aims to protect employees so that they can come to work with natural hair and hairstyles associated with their racial, ethnic and cultural identities, without restriction or judgement.

The Halo Collective is now inviting all workplaces to adopt the Halo Code to help ensure that black people can learn and work free of hair discrimination.

Says Maurice Mcleod, CEO of Race On The Agenda:

“Hair discrimination is still worryingly common. People should not be penalised for the hair that naturally grows from their heads. Despite equality legislation, some schools and workplaces still have very fixed ideas about what ‘professional’ hair looks like and, all too often, this is from a white European lens.

“People of colour in general – and Black people in particular – have enough challenges to traverse when it comes to education and employment, so it is important that we make sure they are not discriminated against because of their hair.”

You can find out more about the Halo Code here.