We have a lady who works in a large open-plan office with about 12 other people.  Unfortunately this lady has a real bad body odour problem, which she has been spoken to about on several occasions during her time with the Company.  She always promises to improve and insists she has no medical issues.  Unfortunately there have been more complaints and her manager has asked me for advice, as the informal approach does not seem to be working.  I'm tempted to tell him to make it formal and follow the Company's disciplinary procedures.  However, I'm quite worried that if we do that and she still does not improve to the point where we've totally exhausted our disciplinary procedure where dismissal is the last remaining option, can we really dismiss someone for not taking care of their hygiene after several warnings?  It is part of our dress code policy that all staff are expected to pay attention to their personal grooming and hygiene.
Quite honestly I can’t believe the Company has let the situation carry on for so long (I’ve only been here 3 months), she’s been here for 9 years!  Her file is full of notes from years a go where she has been warned before.  She’s a good worker but this problem is making work unbearable for the other staff.

Hi Lindsey,

in short, yes the company could ultimately dismiss her for this.  The reason for dismissal would be either "some other substantial reason" or "capability" - this is a situation that falls between 2 stools really.  The key to a dismissal being fair would be that the procedure followed would have to be reasonable, including considering if there is any medical cause for her body odour problems - I can't think what they could be but its not out of the question. 

If you need any more guidance, feel free to email me directly.  Good luck!

Paul