The UK's largest independent travel firm has axed its "backwards and archaic" uniform policy so female workers can wear trousers.
Hays Travel - which recently took over all of Thomas Cook's travel shops - had attracted criticism after previously insisting that women must wear knee-length skirts at work.
But the dress policy, which has been in place throughout Hays' 40 years in business, has been abandoned following complaints from staff.
It is not known whether workers at the recently acquired Thomas Cook branches sparked the revolt but women's rights campaigners and unions welcomed the move.
On Tuesday, the husband of a Hays worker took to social media to complain.
The tweet, which has since been deleted, stated: “21st Century and there are still companies that won’t allow women to wear trousers.
“This is an archaic and backwards policy.
“Is there really equality in the world or even in the UK which would hopefully be beyond this?”
The complainer, who wishes to remain anonymous, said that day: "Their uniform policy does not allow women to wear trousers.
"My wife has requested trousers and been told 'no'. I think it is such an old outdated policy. It screams of Carry On ethics to me."
The following day Hays backed down.
A spokeswoman said: “This issue was brought to the attention of company directors on Tuesday and they have decided to review the uniform policy and allow women to wear trousers.”
Christina McAnea, assistant general secretary at UNISON said: “It’s nice to see organisations joining the 21st century.
“Uniforms should be functional, useful and nothing else.
“The clock is ticking for workplaces that don’t move with the times.”
Harini Iyengar, a barrister from the Women’s Equality Party said: “I'm pleased to hear that the management at Hays Travel have listened to the women who work there and modernised their uniform policy in response. Hopefully other companies and organisations will follow suit.
“All too often, staff are unable to challenge outdated dress codes like this."
“At the moment, unless you can prove that a dress code is ‘detrimental’ to you, there’s no legal basis to challenge it, even if the code treats people differently on the basis of old-fashioned gender stereotypes, as this one did."
She added: “This can lead to situations where women are forced to wear skirts, or certain makeup or - especially for black women - to have their hair a certain way, which can feel very intrusive."
In October last year Hays Travel announced it would take over all 555 Thomas Cook stores following the holiday company's collapse.
The company’s founders, John and Irene Hays recently revealed that 2,000 of the 2,500 retail staff employed by Cook had been retained by Hays Travel and that 3,000 were now employed in the shops overall.
In 2018, their turnover hit £1billion.
