According to an Equality Tribunal ruling published last week, Group4Securicor's comment to Mark Savage of Swords, Dublin, "would never be made to a female candidate for interview."

The company pleaded that the comment was "an honest mistake, " and that its dress code says all employees' hair should be "neatly cut, and officers with long hair should wear it back." It said this applied equally to men and women, and that it employed several male guards with long hair.

The equality officer agreed that, while Group4 did discriminate against Savage, it does not operate a discriminatory dress code and long hair was not an employment barrier. But Savage (41) is appealing the size of the award.

"Last year, a pregnant teacher was asked at an interview when her pregnancy would be over.

She got 10,000 compensation.

600 is an insult, " he told the Sunday Tribune.

Savage is also appealing the finding that Group4's dress code was not discriminatory. "They tried to suggest it was a hygiene issue, but I wear my hair up, " he said. He also has five cases pending against other security companies which refused him work because of his long hair.

"I haven't worked for over three years because I don't fit the military image, " he said. "I wasn't even aware this was discrimination, but being told to get a short back and sides was the last straw. I could get my hair cut and I'd get a job tomorrow. But it's the principle."

The case's equality officer, Vivian Jackson, said that by their nature, workplace dress codes will apply different rules to men and women.

"It would be absurd to suggest otherwise, " she said. "Anti-discrimination legislation does not require that men and women be treated the same in every circumstance . . . it requires they be treated equally. What may be unlawful is [how] the code is applied."

Savage's victory at the Equality Tribunal comes the same week as another male security guard lost a discrimination claim against Kennedy Security after he was told that "a beard would not go with the corporate image of the company."

James Connolly had claimed discrimination on religious grounds in that he "had a Godgiven right to wear a beard."

Dress code battles between the sexes have been common. In a celebrated case, a male shop assistant in Quinnsworth (now Tesco) was awarded IR£100 compensation after he was told he could not wear an earring. He successfully argued this was discriminatory as no such rule applied to women.

Interestingly, Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary's refusal to wear a tie has become a critical part of his carefully groomed anti-establishment image, while Dublin north central TD, Tony Gregory, has made a virtue out of not wearing a tie.

It was Gregory's rebellious streak which led to the Dail changing its strict dress code to allow TDs make their political point in the chamber without the aid of a necktie.