The dress code at Barclays is already changing under new executive chairman John McFarlane.
A memo sent by Amer Sajed, interim CEO of Barclaycard, said McFarlane was pleased with culture and behaviour at Barclays, but that the bank would not tolerate jeans, flip flops, trainers or t-shirts being worn at the bank’s headquarters in Canary Wharf.
Barclaycard staff were targeted because of their looser dress code, in line with other tech startups rather than suited bankers, according to the Telegraph.
McFarlane axed former CEO Antony Jenkins in July because of his leadership style and has since been standing in as executive chairman.
Read more: John McFarlane profile: 'Mack the Knife'
While Barclaycard staff occupy several floors of the bank’s head office in Canary Wharf, they are banned from casual dress, with flip flops even banned on dress-down Fridays, in case it puts off clients.
A spokesman from Barclays confirmed that a memo had been sent to staff regarding dress code.
"As the worldwide headquarters of the Barclays group, One Churchill Place is an important and iconic building. With key client representatives and high profile guests regularly visiting the building it's important that we present the right image of the business and that colleagues working in 1CP [1 Churchill Place] represent Barclays at its best," the memo reads, according to the Telegraph.
"Now defining ‘business casual’ is not easy – just try Googling the term to see what I mean! – but if you work on the premise that the overall objective is to project a professional, business-like image without being obliged to wear formal business attire then you should be fine. Principally it means no jeans, t-shirts, trainers or flip-flops (although - with the exception of flip-flops - more casual dress is acceptable on a Friday)."
"There are no plans to change any other aspects of the working environment or culture in 1CP or indeed the dress code in other offices – on the contrary, John McFarlane, Barclays’ Executive Chairman, has been enormously complimentary about the energy, culture and entrepreneurial spirit of our business and is very supportive of our growth agenda."
