UBS, the arbiter of fashion, revises its dress code Style is not really the forté of the Swiss so it may come as no surprise that the London arm of the Swiss investment bank UBS got itself into a pickle after it released a 44-page dress code for employees late last year. The code, which included compulsory red ties for men and advice on acceptable stockings and lingerie for women, was widely ridiculed in the City. Now, it seems, UBS has withdrawn the booklet and has stated it will produce a less formal slimmed down version, according to the news service Associated Press. A spokesman was quoted this week as saying: “We’re reviewing what’s important to us.” This has allowed the notoriously aggressive London press the opportunity to revisit the original code. Some highlights are: • For female employees, the code spells out how to apply makeup and what types of perfume are advisable. They need to avoid showing different-coloured roots if they dye their hair and also avoid wearing black nail polish. • In the sensitive underwear department, skin-coloured is preferable to dark knickers. • Men are told how to knot their red ties and advised to get a haircut at least monthly. They should avoid unruly beards and earrings. • For both sexes: glasses “should always be kept clean – on the one hand this gives you optimal vision, and on the other hand dirty glasses create an appearance of negligence”. The consumption of garlic and onion were also frowned upon, although we’re not sure that eating fondue is any kinder to one’s breath. The spokesperson admitted that people had made fun of UBS over the code but said it did not cause the firm any reputational damage.

Business continuity planning: officially not boring The annual meeting to revise and update a business continuity plan used to be seen as a boring chore by most. After all, disaster recovery can be a pretty academic concept when the building’s not on fire or under water. Queensland Investment Corporation would beg to differ, of course. On the morning of Tuesday, January 11 it was one of the first organisations in Brisbane’s CBD to invoke its ‘BCP’, and it’s credited that action for the seamless way it has been able to maintain client portfolios throughout the Queensland floods crisis. QIC staff were evacuated from the Brisbane headquarters (at Central Plaza Two on Eagle Street) even before building management closed down the tower, which eventually got water up to its basement level. A significant number of investment staff were able to work remotely from home, while those that couldn’t set up in QIC’s two disaster recovery sites in the higherground suburbs of Taringa and Windsor. QIC said its portfolio managers had been able to continue trading. Even the manager’s extensive Queensland real estate and infrastructure assets were largely spared, with the Grand Central and Garden Town shopping centres in Toowomba experiencing only minor damage and closing down for just a few days. QIC also chipped in a sizeable $100,000 to the Premier’s Flood Relief Fund.