One of the county's most successful companies has explained why it has asked staff not to grow beards or heavy stubble when they are wearing dust masks at work.

Mears Group, which has its headquarters at Brockworth, is a UK wide housing and social care provider.

But the Unite union has condemned the warning on beards as "'penny pinching stupidity."

Unite regional official for London Mark Soave said: "The arrogance of Mears is hair-raising. This is a highly delicate issue, which has huge cultural, religious and personal issues and where sensitivity should be the watchword. Instead members have been handed a decree from on high.

"This is clearly a case of Mears going for the cheapest option and amounts to 'penny pinching stupidity'. Other forms of masks are available and these should be offered to existing workers."

But Mears says it is surprised by the criticism when all it is trying to do is put the safety of its workforce at the heart of its operations.

Mark Elkington, Group Health and Safety Director of Mears Group, said: "Every employer in the UK has a legal responsibility to ensure that employees working in dusty or otherwise potentially hazardous environments are properly protected and in recent years employers have been prosecuted for failing to fulfil this duty.

"The simple fact is that no dust mask can work effectively unless it forms a seal against the skin. That is not possible with a beard or even heavy stubble. If the Health and Safety Executive did a spot site visit and found workers wearing dust masks that were not sealed against the face then we would be liable to prosecution."

Mr Elkington said the alternative to a dust mask was a full hood over the head, which brings its own risks.

"For example many of our operatives do not like wearing a full hood and it can affect hearing and line of sight. It can also be uncomfortable to wear and can raise concerns with our clients who do not like to see workers in such hoods because of how it looks to customers," he said.

"It is vital to note, however, that if a risk assessment shows that the hood is a better option for a job or a worker insisted on having one, then we will supply that hood so Unite's reference to cost saving is absolute nonsense.

"If one of our workers suffers respiratory illness as a result of a poor fitting mask then that is our responsibility and we place the safety of our workers at the top of the priority list.

"Finally it is worthy of note that this affects a very small percentage of our workers who would be in that environment."

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