£800 LEGAL BILL: Plymouth taxi driver loses appeal after challenging council’s clothing policy

A Plymouth taxi driver who went to court to challenge the city council's new clothing policy was left paying a £800 bill for essentially wearing the wrong trousers.

As part of new licensing policies brought in by Plymouth City Council (PCC) in 2018 all clothing worn by licensed drivers must be clean and in good condition, and the driver must have good standards of personal hygiene.

As a minimum standard, tops must be collared and have a full body and short or long sleeves.

Trousers, shorts and skirts must be smart long-legged trousers (no denim jeans), knee length tailored shorts, knee length skirt or dress.

Footwear for all drivers shall fit around the heel of the foot and drivers should not wear or display any clothing, logos, badges or any other image that implies a political, sporting, national or similar allegiance.

According to PlymouthLive, the unnamed driver appealed the decision made by PCC to suspend their taxi driver's licence due to enforcement issues relating to the new policy.

The hearing earlier this month took place at Plymouth Magistrates' Court and centred around dress code policy.

The cab driver who attended the hearing is said to have argued that PCC did not follow correct procedure and that the suspension of his taxi licence for five days was incorrect.

However, according to court documents seen by PlymouthLive, Magistrates said the council was "within their powers and authority to make said decision in accordance with policy, code of conduct, byelaws and statute".

The Magistrates threw out the cabbie’s appeal, ordering them to pay Plymouth City Council's legal costs amounting to £800.