How To Streamline Uniform Reorders When Staff Turnover Is High

When staff turnover is high, uniform reorders can quickly become a constant stream of urgent, one-off orders, and that is usually where mismatched kit, wasted garments and rush costs creep in.

The fix is to make every reorder a repeat of the same order. Set one uniform specification per role, keep a small buffer of branded garments in your most common sizes, and send every request through one person and one supplier. Then build uniform issue and return into your onboarding and offboarding checklists, so new starters are kitted out from day one and leavers hand their kit back.

Really, in a high-turnover business, good staff uniform management is less about ordering more and more about ordering the same way every time.

Why High Staff Turnover Makes Uniform Reorders So Hard

Turnover doesn't just add to the number of uniforms you order. It changes the way you order. Instead of one planned order, you get a steady trickle of small, unpredictable requests: two polo shirts for a Monday starter, a replacement fleece for someone who left in theirs, or a size nobody thought to keep in stock.

That pattern causes three problems. Managers can end up making do with leftover garments, so the team ends up in different shades and states of wear. Kit can walk out of the door with leavers. And someone loses hours chasing sizes and approvals for orders of just two or three items. None of it helps your team look the part.

For some sectors, this is simply business as usual. CIPD analysis of ONS Annual Population Survey data for 2022 to 2023 puts annual staff turnover at 52% in hospitality, compared with 25% in public administration and defence. If your team wears hospitality workwear, you could be kitting out around half of it again every year.

The answer is not to blame staff for leaving or to keep ordering large quantities without a plan. Instead, uniform management when staff turnover is high needs to make frequent changes easier to absorb. A consistent specification, clear stock levels and a simple ordering process can take much of the pressure away from managers.

Source: CIPD - Benchmarking employee turnover.

Fix One Uniform Specification Before You Reorder Anything

Most reorder problems start with a loose specification. If nobody has written down exactly what each role wears, every reorder drifts a little: a slightly different navy, a logo that has crept 2cm to the left, or a new style because the old one "looked similar".

The answer is a one-page uniform spec sheet for each role, kept somewhere everyone who orders can find it. Once it exists, anyone in the business can reorder branded staff uniforms without guesswork, and your uniform reorder system no longer depends on one person's memory.

A good specification should be simple enough for a manager or administrator to use without needing to contact the original person who placed the order. That is particularly important when staff change roles or leave the business themselves.

Record Garment Codes, Colours and Logo Placement

Your spec sheet should hold everything needed to repeat an order exactly: the garment style code, the colour name as the supplier lists it, the approved logo file, the logo position and size, whether it's embroidered or printed, and how many of each item a person receives.

For the logo position, record a measurement from a fixed point on each garment, such as the shoulder seam, rather than using one measurement for everything. This helps keep branding consistent across mixed orders and different garment styles.

Reusing the same approved logo and placement every time is what keeps a new starter's polo matching one ordered 18 months earlier. It also speeds up embroidered workwear reorders, because nothing needs re-approving.

When you order with us, you can simply select a logo you've used before at checkout, and once you've paid the setup charge for a logo, you won't be charged it again on future orders. If you're new to branded garments, take a look at how our embroidery works and our artwork guidelines before you finalise the sheet.

Choose Core Garments That Are Easy To Reorder

The garments you choose decide how easy reordering will be. Build your kit from established core styles, such as classic polo shirts, sweatshirts, tabards and aprons, rather than seasonal fashion lines that may be discontinued partway through the year. When a style disappears, you're left choosing between a mismatched team and a costly full re-kit.

Fit matters too. Forgiving garments like tabards and aprons cover a wider range of body shapes, so you need to hold fewer sizes. For most customer-facing teams, embroidered polo shirts make a dependable base layer, as a stitched logo stands up well to regular washing. We stock trusted workwear brands such as Uneek, Russell and Kustom Kit, with men's and women’s polos across a wide range of sizes, so nobody on the rota is left out.

Build Starter Kits and a Small Uniform Buffer Stock

The fastest way to kit out a new starter is to already have their uniform on the shelf. Instead of placing a fresh order for each new joiner, agree a starter kit for each role, for example 3 tops and 1 outer layer, and order several kits at once.

Alongside those kits, hold a small uniform buffer stock: a handful of pre-branded garments in your most common sizes, topped up on a set schedule. It can feel like money sitting in a cupboard, but it's a planned cost rather than waste. The alternative is lots of small, rushed orders and new starters spending their first week in whatever was left behind.

Ordering in batches can also work in your favour on price. Garment prices can drop as you order more of the same item, and so can the cost of adding your logo. The important point is to make your stock level deliberate rather than simply ordering extra garments without knowing why they are being held.

Check our customisation prices to compare batch orders with one-off orders and see what your uniform inventory management will actually cost.

How To Work Out Your Buffer Stock From Your Turnover Rate

You don't need specialist software for this. Start with your turnover rate: leavers in a year divided by your average headcount, multiplied by 100. Assuming you replace most leavers, that tells you roughly how many new starters to expect each quarter.

Multiply that by the number of garments in a starter kit, then weight the sizes towards the two or three your team wears most.

For example, a 40-person team with 50% annual turnover can expect around 20 leavers a year, or about 5 new starters a quarter. A quarterly buffer of 5 starter kits covers most arrivals without a rush order.

Treat this as a starting point rather than a fixed rule. Each quarter, compare what you issued with what you held and adjust. Because branded garments are personalised to your business, it pays to base your buffer on real numbers rather than guesswork.

Source: CIPD - Benchmarking employee turnover.

Create One Simple Route for Every Reorder

Uniform reorders go wrong when there are too many ways in. If staff can email different managers, buy their own items or call the supplier directly, you lose control of both spend and specification. Control comes from having one route.

Decide who can request garments, who approves them and who places the order. In a smaller business, that might simply be a site manager and one administrator. In a larger one, it may be a central procurement team. Either way, name one uniform coordinator per site who knows what's been ordered and what's on the shelf.

Every request should capture the same details, so the order is right first time:

• Employee name
• Role
• Garment
• Size
• Quantity
• Branding
• Delivery location

Then set a rhythm. A monthly top-up order, checked against your buffer stock, keeps most orders planned, with a separate route for the occasional urgent starter. This creates a straightforward uniform reorder system instead of treating every request as a new purchasing decision.

For urgent requirements, our Superfast service dispatches selected customised garments within 24 hours when you order by 3pm, for an extra £5 (ex VAT) per garment with one logo each. Larger organisations can go a step further with our bulk and corporate ordering portal, which lets you order for multiple sites and have uniforms individually packaged for each wearer.

Multi-site businesses have additional considerations around stock, approvals and delivery. Rather than repeating that process here, see our guide to managing uniform supply across multiple locations.

Link Uniforms to Onboarding and Offboarding

Your uniform process should start when a job offer is accepted and end when a leaver hands back their kit. Add a size question to your offer letter or onboarding form, so the new starter uniform can be pulled from your buffer before their first shift.

Log what each person is issued, even in a simple spreadsheet, and add uniform return to your leaver checklist alongside keys and ID badges. This gives managers a clear record of what was issued and makes it easier to identify what can be returned to stock when somebody leaves.

A short, written uniform policy ties it all together. It should explain what staff receive, how to care for it, when items are replaced and what happens when someone leaves. Returning uniform when leaving a job then becomes an expected step rather than an awkward conversation.

The same process can also make replacement requests easier to manage. If someone needs a different size or replacement garment, the manager can check the original issue record before approving another item. Over time, those records give the business a clearer picture of which garments and sizes are actually being used.

Recovering Uniforms From Leavers Without Breaking The Rules

If a leaver keeps their uniform, you can't simply take the cost from their final pay. Uniform deductions from wages are only allowed where the contract clearly allows it, or where the deduction has otherwise been agreed in accordance with the relevant rules.

The National Minimum Wage rules add another layer. HMRC guidance says that charging staff for a uniform they are required to wear reduces their pay for minimum wage purposes, so it must never take them below the minimum wage. A charge for a uniform that isn't returned at the end of employment is treated differently, but only where the non-return is down to the worker's misconduct and the charge is set out in their contract.

PPE is different again: employers cannot charge workers for PPE they need to do their job, and since April 2022 that protection has covered limb (b) workers as well as employees.

This is general information rather than legal advice, so check your contracts with HR or an employment adviser. You can also read our guide to workwear and PPE rules for UK employers.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Many Uniforms Should Each Employee Get?

It depends on how many shifts each person works and who does the laundry. For full-time staff, 3 tops is a sensible starting point: one to wear, one in the wash and one spare. Part-time staff may need fewer. Set the number for each role on your spec sheet, so every starter kit matches.

How Long Does It Take To Reorder Embroidered Workwear?

Plain garments generally arrive faster than branded ones because adding a logo is an extra production step. With us, plain products typically take 1 to 2 or 3 to 5 working days for delivery depending on the product, while products with a logo average 5 to 7 working days from when your artwork is approved. Reordering an approved logo is usually quicker to get moving because there's no new proof to sign off. For a brand-new logo, our artwork team emails a proof within 24 to 48 hours. Timings can stretch in peak seasons and depend on stock, so check the date shown at checkout.

Can You Reissue A Uniform From Someone Who Has Left?

Yes, provided the garment is suitable for reuse. Check its condition, cleanliness and fit, and whether it carries a personal name. Unnamed, good-condition items can go back into buffer stock after laundering; worn or named items should be retired. This gives businesses another way to reduce unnecessary reorders while keeping issued clothing appropriate for the next wearer.

Is A Staff Uniform A Taxable Benefit?

Generally, branded uniforms provided for work are not treated as a taxable benefit, whereas everyday clothing can be. GOV.UK guidance explains how uniforms, work clothing and tools are treated for tax purposes. Read our guide on whether staff clothing is a taxable benefit for more detail.

Source: GOV.UK - Expenses and benefits: uniforms, work clothing and tools.

Next Steps

Once your core kit, logo and sizes are fixed, every reorder becomes a repeat of the same order rather than a fresh decision. That's the point where high staff turnover stops feeling like a uniform problem.

If you're ready to build that core kit, explore our range of branded staff uniforms and choose the garments your spec sheet will be built around. We'll add your logo in-house at our Durham production facility, and your approved design will be ready to select again every time you reorder.

If you order regularly, you can apply for a credit account, and for larger or multi-site teams our corporate specialists can provide dedicated account management and an ordering portal built around your business.

Want to talk it through first? Call us free on 0800 028 5867.