The most annoying workplace rules revealed

Earlier this year, the government refused to ban companies from forcing female employees to wear high heels, after a high-profile court case.

London temp Nicola Thorp was sent home without pay after refusing to wear heels at a job for PwC.

See also: Woman claims she was fired for being 'too good looking'

See also: Man claims poppy seed roll is reason he failed drugs test


But the temp company, Portico, isn't the only employer to have rules that drive their staff up the wall.

New research from job board CV-Library has found that more than a third of workplaces in the UK have ridiculous rules in place, with one in five workers stating that they feel they can't be trusted as a result.

The the cities most likely to have ridiculous rules in place included Glasgow, at a whopping 71%, Cardiff at 57%, Sheffield at 46%. In, Birmingham 38% of workplaces had ridiculous rules, and in London the figure was 37%.

However, more than half of workers said they'd simply ignore any rules they found too daft.

"Every workplace needs rules: otherwise you'd simply never get things done! That said it's clear that many of the rules highlighted in our research are just ridiculous," says Lee Biggins, founder and managing director of CV-Library.

"Employees want to feel trusted, and while one workplace can differ massively to another, you have to treat your staff like adults – especially when it comes to being allowed to drink water and going to the toilet!"

The main types of silly workplace rules

1. Toilet troubles

Many people say they either have a strict time frame in which to go to the toilet - as little as three minutes - or have to ask before they go. Some say they're even searched before going to the loo.

2. Dress code dilemmas

Some respondents say they have to wear particular coloured clothes to match the business, others, that women aren't allowed to wear trousers. One individual even said that they were sent home for not dressing down.

3. Silent treatment

Some employees say they aren't allowed to talk out loud unless they're in the staff room, while others said that they weren't allowed to say hello to a customer, only 'good morning', or 'good afternoon'.

4. Time keeping

If you're two minutes late in one business you'll have your pay docked by 15 minutes - and in another you aren't allowed to travel further than 20 metres away from the building at lunch in case you're late back!

5. Beverage blunders

Some workplaces won't allow their staff to drink water; one won't let workers carry drinks up and down the stairs. Even worse, another company won't let employees have drinks on their desk in case they get spilt.