The TUC’s Brendan Barber said: “We were surprised how many times we found that employers’ dress codes did not permit the wearing of comfortable sensible footwear by women. These dress codes – apart from being blatantly sexist – can lead to long-term foot and back problems. Feet bear the brunt of the daily working life and instead of worrying about what their staff look like, employers should focus on the effect that the wrong shoes and prolonged standing can have. Employers should look at encouraging their staff to come to work in comfortable shoes and, where possible, provide the option of sitting.”

So if you’re a city Cinderella, or worried you need special shoes to stay safe in your own working environment, check out all your problems in the TUC guide.

…and don’t get us started on neckties.

The 45 year old man was one of Toyotas most senior engineers and had been working on a new hybrid car at the time of his death.

Having worked on average more the 80 hours of overtime a month in the two months preceding his death, regularly worked nights and weekends and travelled extensively overseas, the man was found dead in his Tokyo home from ischaemia the day before the car was to be premiered at a show in Detroit.

Japan has one of the worst records for long working hours and last year there were 142 documented cases of “karoshi” - death from excessive work

Read more at the Guardian: Senior Toyota engineer died of overwork

In a move which has already sent other shows’ contestents scrabbling for their lawyers, Anthony Brocheton, Marie Adamiak and Arno Laizé have been awarded €27,000 compensation for employment law abuses during the 12 day shoot.

Holiday pay of €817 and, given France’s 35 hour working week, overtime payments of €8,176 were added to €500 for unfair dismissal, €1,500 for wrongful termination and €16,000 for being employed on an illegal contract.

Mr Brocheton told how she was continually ordered around by the production company - effectively on call 24 hours a day: “They said it was not work. But for us it was hell.”

The court also affirmed that contestants would have other rights of employment, and France could see them going on strike if they feel particularly aggrieved about eating bugs or pretending to be a cat. Can an National Union of Reality Z-listers be far off?

Read more at the Times: French court finds TV sex frolics are labour not love

• Diary of a Screenhead: Work Your Proper Hours - Day (22nd February)
  
• HSW: Long hours = stress
• The Work Clinic: Unpaid overtime | Britons work for free
• John’s Labour Blog: Work Your Proper Hours Day: Friday 22 Feb
• russelldavies’ photostream: Work Your Proper Hours Day
• tutor2u: Is it worth working for nothing?
• FlippingHECK: Work Your Proper Hours Day

If you’re a blogger, try our quiz to work out your employer’s work/life balance style. Depending on whether you’re too embarrassed by the result, you can get a blog button to show off your results.

Chances are that if you walk round most offices, you’ll see a couple of Dilbert cartoons posted on the walls. Scott Adams’ Dilbert cartoon strip first appeared in 1989, and his 3 panel adventures have graced the funnies pages of over 1500 newspapers and magazines, lampooning the people and processes of the modern business world. No matter the work situation, there’s a cartoon to cover it. (more…)

Well, here’s a nice antidote to them from retro syrup makers Covonia, whose latest PR survey of 4,000 office staff shows that in real life, nobody wants a mucus trooper on the desk next to them. (more…)