Nicola Thorp was widely reported to have been told on her first day of a short-term assignment to PwC’s London offices that she had to wear shoes with a ‘2in to 4in heel’. Her refusal meant she was sent home without pay, while male colleagues were not subject to similar treatment.

Her views that this was impractical and inappropriate led her to launch an online petition, calling on the government to ban office dress codes, so that women have the option to wear flat formal shoes at work if they wish, which has gained over 70,000 signatures.

However, PwC has suggested that the shoe is on the other foot, as Thorp was contracted via its outsourced recruitment company Portico, and it was they who instigated the dress code rather than PwC itself.

In a first response, PwC said: ‘PwC outsources its front of house/reception services to Portico who have standard uniform guidelines. We were first made aware of this matter yesterday (10 May), some five months after the event. We have asked Portico to review their uniform guidelines.

‘The dress code referenced in the media is not a PwC policy. PwC does not have specific dress guidelines for male or female employees, but we ask our people to exercise their own judgement around the business environment they're operating in.’

Subsequently, the firm put out a second statement: ‘We are pleased that Portico has responded to our concerns and is updating its uniform policy with immediate effect.

‘PwC places a great deal of emphasis on providing a progressive working environment for all of our people and we feel strongly that this must include third party employees working in our offices.

‘We are now reviewing our supplier uniform codes to ensure they are aligned with our own values.’

Thorp’s petition is here