Animal Welfare Professionals

We have several big events coming up and we want to up our game, so I'm looking for some guidance. 

Our small shelter staff does not currently have a standard daily uniform; most wear various shelter T-shirts. We are planning to provide staff with matching shirts and require them to wear those shirts each workday. 

For those of you with uniform policies, how is your uniform program structured?

Example: Full-time staff receive __________ shirts.

Part-time staff receive __________ shirts.

·       Do you require employees to return shirts if they resign or are terminated within a certain period? For example, if a new full-time employee receives three staff shirts and resigns or is terminated within six weeks, are they required to return them?

·       Do you require employees to sign a shirt return policy?

In a previous job, I was required to return my logoed jacket before receiving my final paycheck, even though I had worked there for three years. 

Because we are a small nonprofit with a limited budget, we want to handle this thoughtfully.

Thank you for your insight!

Ann

#PeopleManagement(includingVolunteerIntegration)

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ann traynor-plowman
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As a small nonprofit have you looked into the cost of shirts?  I'm assuming you have but it's so expensive i thought I should ask.  We paid $50 for 2. Hope you can find a better deal

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Bre Hoffman (they/m)
Special Little Whiskers Sanctuary Decatur IL
SpecialLittleWhiskersKittenRescue.com
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Our staff all have a handful of our standard staff shirts; but they also have shirts from events and dog walks that we have had that they wear.

When a staff member is terminated, I do remind them that they need to return their staff uniform shirts (not the events ones, etc.). Even if they have bleach stains, etc., I do ask for them back so I am asking for them across the board period. If they decide not to, we will deduct the cost of how many shirts they have from their final paycheck. But we are very lucky and have a pretty healthy budget, and shirts are given out at times on the "free table" and given here and there as needed so I could not tell you how many shirts each staff member have!

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Megan Cutter
Director of People and Culture
SPCA Cincinnati
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Good morning and thank you, Megan.

This approach makes sense and I appreciate that staff has both uniform shirts and shelter shirts to wear. This would be more cost-effective for us since we have such a limited budget. I also like that the shirts must be returned with the cost deducted from the final paycheck if they are not. The returned shirts would be helpful to reuse as needed.

Thank you again and enjoy your weekend!

Ann 

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ann traynor-plowman
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Original Message:
Sent: 07-17-2026 09:00 AM
From: Megan Cutter
Subject: Staff Uniforms

Our staff all have a handful of our standard staff shirts; but they also have shirts from events and dog walks that we have had that they wear.

When a staff member is terminated, I do remind them that they need to return their staff uniform shirts (not the events ones, etc.). Even if they have bleach stains, etc., I do ask for them back so I am asking for them across the board period. If they decide not to, we will deduct the cost of how many shirts they have from their final paycheck. But we are very lucky and have a pretty healthy budget, and shirts are given out at times on the "free table" and given here and there as needed so I could not tell you how many shirts each staff member have!

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Megan Cutter
Director of People and Culture
SPCA Cincinnati
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