The French Post office – La Poste – may soon have to put its hand in its pocket after a court in Toulouse decided that requiring postal deliverers to look smart meant that the company, not the individual, should pick up the cleaning bill. The cost of cleaning a French postal worker’s uniform has traditionally been down to the postie, but now the court has said that the dry cleaning costs in question should be paid by the company, which could lead to £103 million pound pay out to workers, backdated for up to five years.

A delighted union leader said, ‘We’ve been asking La Poste to pay for dry-cleaning of uniforms for a long time now, because waterproof uniforms are very difficult to machine-wash.’

So how can you make sure you don’t end up out of pocket?

First, choose clothing that can be washed by hand or in a machine. Remember that bulky items like waterproof jackets, are also the ones that are most likely to get dirty or stained when employees work outdoors so easy clean options are vital here.

Second, remember that not everybody has a washing machine, or a tumble dryer, or a washing line, so choosing uniform components that can be both hand and machine washed, line-dried or tumble dried, is important if you’re not to add to the burden of your staff. ‘Easy clean’ or ‘drip dry’ are good indicators, as is the lovely phrase ‘crease resistant’ which keeps formal clothing articles looking good for longer.

Third, because everybody’s different, why not offer staff a range of clothing to choose from, and a budget to spend. Many companies now offer a range of personalised uniform items from polo-shirts to hoodies, or smart shirts to casual tees, along with hats, scarves and other accessories. This allows employees to pick the clothing they need for the job they do, rather than having to wear what everybody else wears, regardless of whether it’s the right garment for the situation.