Lee Moran, 50, wore a hi-vis kilt as temperatures soared above 25c and bosses at York City Council told him he had to remain covered up

A binman who says bosses banned him from wearing a shorts on health and safety grounds came up with an ingenious solution to their dress code by wearing a hi-vis kilt.

Lee Moran, 50, mounted his sartorial protest as temperatures soared above 25c and bosses at York City Council insisted he needed to wear trousers.

The dad-of-three had campaigned to wear shorts for years in the height of summer and so on Monday, June 11, he donned fluorescent orange kilt to make a stand against their policy.

Mr Moran said the response to his protest had been ‘absolutely amazing’ and he hopes to convince the council to change its approach before the temperatures rise next week.

He said: ‘For the last five years, I’ve been asking about wearing shorts, and they’ve just slung health and safety at me left right and centre.

Lee Moran, 50, wore a hi-vis kilt as temperatures soared above 25c and bosses at York City Council told him he had to remain covered up

Lee Moran, 50, wore a hi-vis kilt as temperatures soared above 25c and bosses at York City Council told him he had to remain covered up

‘But one of the managers approached me and said ‘look, Lee, you can wear a kilt. There’s nothing about wearing a kilt’.

‘So I waited until the temperature reached over 25c, and Monday was the perfect opportunity for it.

He added: ‘The public response has been absolutely amazing, and I’ve even had some City of York councillors ring me and message me saying, ‘We’re right behind you.’

Mr Moran said he’d always trusted his managers when they told him he was banned from wearing shorts on health and safety grounds.

But when he went online recently and looked up the regulations, he was shocked to find out that this was in fact untrue.

Mr Moran said the response to his protest had been 'absolutely amazing' and he hoped to convince the council to change its approach before the temperatures rise next week

Mr Moran said the response to his protest had been ‘absolutely amazing’ and he hoped to convince the council to change its approach before the temperatures rise next week

He said: ‘This year, I decided to have a look online. I’ve looked at the health and safety laws, and there are no laws regarding binmen wearing shorts.

‘It’s up to our managers and health and safety at work. So I just put it forward to the managers, ‘Why are you using health and safety as an excuse when basically, it’s just public image?’

‘One of the managers then admitted it was basically due to ‘reputation’, so I said, ‘We’re sweating, doing hard work in the sun just to look good for the public?’

‘I said, ‘It’s alright saying ‘health and safety’ but you’re not taking our well-being into consideration at the same time.

‘We’re sweating in these trousers, we’re at risk of collapse.’

Mr Moran said he ordered the £60 kilt online from a supplier in Canada and had put it on only after his suspicious managers had made inquiries about his clothes on that day.

He said: ‘Instead of going to work like I normally do, I met up on the job. I had my normal work attire on, and I waited for the manager to ring the driver to see if I had the kilt on.

‘As soon as the manager rang up, I got changed into the kilt and worked all day in it. My workmates are all for it and that. They loved it.’

Mr Moran said he ordered the £60 kilt online from a supplier in Canada and had put it on only after his suspicious managers had made inquiries about his clothes on that day

Mr Moran said he ordered the £60 kilt online from a supplier in Canada and had put it on only after his suspicious managers had made inquiries about his clothes on that day

Mr Moran, who works at sites across the city of York, said a lot of local residents had sympathized with his protest.

He said he hoped that York City Council would change their policy, especially as another nearby local authority was letting their binmen ditch their trousers.

But he had concerns they weren’t acting fast enough, with thermostats set to rise above 40c next week in some parts of the country.

Mr Moran said: ‘They’ve phoned Scarborough council, just 40 miles from us. They’re allowed to wear shorts, so they’ve asked them about their short policy.

‘And basically, they’ve gone out and got some shorts from suppliers, so hopefully, we’ll get a review.

‘However, the health and safety manager just happens to be away on holiday this week.

In response to Mr Moran's protest, Ben Grabham, head of environmental services at City of York Council, said shorts had been banned to protect binmen against 'sharp objects'

In response to Mr Moran’s protest, Ben Grabham, head of environmental services at City of York Council, said shorts had been banned to protect binmen against ‘sharp objects’

‘We’re saying we need this now – we don’t want to be waiting another week, it’s going to be red hot next week.

‘They said, ‘these things take time’, but we haven’t got time. The weather isn’t going to wait for us.’

In reply to Mr Moran’s protest, Ben Grabham, head of environmental services at City of York Council, said shorts had been banned to protect binmen against ‘sharp objects’.

He said: ‘We’re all experiencing hot weather at the moment so can sympathise with anyone working in the direct sun. The health, safety and well-being of our staff is paramount.

‘The reason our waste collection crews wear trousers is to protect them against sharp objects that may be contained in recycling boxes or in bags.

‘We appreciate that working outdoors at this moment is very warm and we’re supporting our crews who are encouraged to take regular rest breaks and wear hats and sun cream that they are provided with.

‘We’re undertaking a review of all our operations in extreme weather with our health and safety team, but we’re not sure a kilt will necessarily be the right option for our staff.’

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