We've required women to wear hose as part of our dress code; however, fashions have changed and it's very hot here in the summer. Thoughts?

Tailored capri suits are not allowed at present, but are being considered, too.

Are there different dress codes for different departments?
Personally, I feel that customer contact folks should be held to a higher standard. Business casual for Operations/IT personnel seems to make sense.

How do you define business casual?

I welcome any other thoughts.

Different codes for different depts? Absolutely - our proof, doc retention, IT, maintenance are allowed to wear jeans (they often find themselves in dirty, dusty places - sometimes on floors, behind desks, etc) - so who would want to get good clothes that dirty at work. They are required to wear bank shirts, however, so that co-workers are aware of who they are.

Business casual is defined, for guys, as docker style slack or dress slacks with a shirt that ranges from a dress shirt (no tie) to a polo shirt - no logos, other than the bank's allowed on shirts.

Jeans (Clean) allowed on Fridays and Saturdays with a bank shirt.

This is definitely a hot topic. Although I agree with different dress codes for different departments, that doesn't always fly well. In my experiences, treating different departments differently is sometimes hard to sell. "Well, if bookkeeping can do that, why can't the tellers do that too." I would be well prepared to deal with employees that might think that different dress codes for different departments is "not fair". Also be prepared for some employees wanting more 'explanation' for what business casual is. One person's business casual is alot different than anothers. I know that it may seem petty or unnecessary to go into great detail, but from my experience, there will always be one in the group that will push the envelope. The dress code is one thing that I have struggle with and a topic that I would rather avoid because it seems like a never ending upward battle (or at least it is here). I applaud you for wanting to bring the dress code into the 21st century...but be aware of the multi generational issues that there are out there too.
Good Luck.

This is a good website for defining "business casual" attire for both men and women.

http://www.career.vt.edu/JOBSEARC/BusCasual.htm

We have "relaxed" the dress code in the summer and allowed females to wear sandals without hose. But it begs the questions "why just women?" and some males are pursuing that question. So, we're back to implementing a full dress code. If McDonalds, In and Out Burger, UPS, etc. can demand employees wear uniforms, why can't a bank demand that it's employees dress professionally? We have a fiduciary responsibility to our customers and part of that is that we appear professional. If employees don't want to "dress up" to go to work, then they are free to look for employment elsewhere. Sounds hard nose, but the dog has to wag the tail - not the other way around.

I can speak from experience on this one. I was here when we wore uniforms, then went to a business dress policy and are now casual business with casual Fridays. Casual Business here does not include capris for women, which are only allowed on Fridays. Colored Jeans (any color but blue) are allowed on Fridays. No T-Shirts or shirts with logos other that company are allowed. Ladies do not have to wear hose, but have to wear dress sandals during the week. And, yes, there are many interpretations of "business casual" and we have redefined it many times over in our policy. In my opinion the bottom line to it working for any company is management. You have to have managers who will, first, set a good example and, second, address those that try to push the envelope so they don't become the trend setters.

We too have tons of trouble with our dress code on casual Friday's. We can wear a khaki pant with any shirt on Friday and khaki's on Monday with a bank shirt. We can wear capri's in the summer with sandals. The other days were are in full uniform and all departments are included. The men still have to wear ties also.

This topic has been hammered on BOL on at least 2 different threads that I can recall. If you want exacting input, you may wish to search those out.

I came up with the idea to implement a casual dress code for the time frame of Labor Day to Memorial Day. In which case that means, women can wear open toed shoes as long as they are not flip flop style, no hose, capris as long as they are not cargo style.
The men can wear khakis and a shirt of their preference, no t-shirts of course.

We find that the women actually will wear more dresses/skirts when they don't have to wear hose! I know I fit in that category...I detest pantyhose!

Me too, I wear dresses in the summer, but the winter finds me in pants - hose are too uncomfortable! We are looking at setting up two dress codes - one for hourly employees that allows a bit more casual wear (for example, bank logo shirts all week long, not just on casual Friday, khaki type pants, etc.) and then a management dress code which addresses suits, dress shirts, ties, etc. It's still in the draft stages, but in looking at how employees actually dress, it seems to fit what's really going on...