Job Seeker Questions Cotti Coffee's Policy on Self-Purchasing Uniforms: "Did Your Family Fall on Hard Times?" Is It Legal to Pay for Your Own Work Clothes?

A Cotti Coffee Recruitment Controversy

A netizen recently shared screenshots of their exchange with a Cotti Coffee store's hiring manager on a recruitment platform. When they questioned the requirement to buy work uniforms at their own expense, the response they got was not what they expected.

Although the full screenshot of the job requirements wasn't shown, the applicant's replies suggest the hiring manager had asked candidates to buy their own uniforms on Taobao. When the applicant pushed back—arguing the requirement was unreasonable and possibly against the law—the manager shot back: "Has your family fallen on hard times?"

Media outlets later contacted Cotti Coffee's customer service center about employees paying for their own uniforms. The representative explained: "All currently operating stores are franchise locations, and this is handled by our partners (the store managers). It depends on each partner's policy—some stores require employees to purchase their uniforms, while others have the partner cover the cost."

Public Opinion on Uniform Requirements

Opinion online is split. Some commenters point out that plenty of companies make similar demands; others side with the original poster, calling the practice unreasonable and illegal.

Those who consider it illegal cite Article 9 of the Labor Contract Law, which prohibits employers from withholding employees' identity documents or other certificates, and from requiring employees to provide guarantees or to hand over money under any pretext.

Legal Analysis

The question can be examined from two angles. Under the provision above, if Cotti Coffee required employees to buy specified or customized uniforms from a designated store—or if employees paid for uniforms themselves and then had to return them upon resignation without any refund—that would clearly cross the line into illegally collecting money from workers.

On the other hand, if the employer doesn't mandate a specific store, brand, or customized design, and merely asks employees to buy similar clothing on their own, that may not amount to "collecting money under a pretext," and might not be illegal in that narrower sense.

From the screenshots, when the applicant argued that self-purchasing uniforms amounted to indirect fee collection, the hiring manager replied only with "buy it yourself on Taobao," without naming any particular store—more a suggestion of where to find similar clothing than a mandated purchase.

Meanwhile, the applicant, without fully examining the relevant law or the manager's explanation, kept pressing the point that the practice was illegal. That said, the manager's retort was definitely out of line.

Industry Perspective

As the comments show, many employers do in fact ask staff to provide their own work attire—largely because of high employee turnover in the sector. In those cases, employers typically specify a color and common styles that are easy to find on e-commerce platforms, letting employees pick something within their budget. If the practice were flatly illegal, so many companies wouldn't be doing it.

Employment is a two-way selection process. If job seekers find a requirement unreasonable during the conversation, they're free to walk away and look elsewhere; likewise, recruiters who decide an applicant isn't a fit can say so clearly and promptly.

Image source: Internet, Jiupai News

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

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