A waitress who claimed she had to wear heels over her entire shift has become an internet sensation after a picture of her bloodied feet was shared on Facebook.

Nicola Gavins, from Alberta, Canada, uploaded the image of her unnamed friend's feet and described she was 'bleeding to the point she lost a toe nail'.

The freelance make-up artist said the shift manager had even 'berated' her waitress pal, who works at chain restaurant Joey, for wearing flats, telling her she would still have to wear heels the next day.

Nicola Gavins, from Alberta, Canada, posted a picture of her friend's feet and described she was 'bleeding to the point she lost a toe nail' on Facebook

The freelance makeup artist claimed the manager had even 'berated' her waitress friend, who works at chain restaurant Joey, for wearing flats in the post which has been shared more than 11,000 times.

In the post, which has been shared more than 11,000 times, her friend's pop socks are red with blood and red stains can also be seen inside the sole of her black heels.

She captioned the picture: 'To anyone I know who eats at Joey Restaurants (Jasper Ave, Edmonton location specifically).

'Their policy is still that female staff wear heels unless medically restricted, my friend's feet were bleeding to the point she lost a toe nail and she was still discouraged and berated by the shift manager for changing into flats.'

Nicola also claimed her friend was 'specifically told that heels would be required on her next shift the following day.'

She said female staff at the restaurant, which has 22 restaurants across Canada and four in the US, also have to pay for their uniform.

Nicola said: 'In addition, the female staff have to purchase a uniform/dress at the cost of $30 (£20) while male staff can dress themselves in black clothing from their own closets (and are not required to wear heels).'

Nicola, pictured, posted the picture on her friend's behalf and was disgusted by the 'sexist' policy that female workers had to wear heels

She described it as a 'sexist, archaic requirements and totally disgusting policy. I have many friends in the service industry and know loads of ladies who still earn great tips without having to sacrifice their comfort while serving. I'll choose to continue supporting those establishments.'

Nicola later added claims the restaurant 'has unpaid training shifts which is illegal under the Alberta Labour Laws.'

The post has had more than 1,000 reactions on Facebook and has been shared more than 11,000 times since it was posted last Tuesday.

There were many commenters who supported Nicola's views and felt the restaurant should be 'boycotted' for its attitude.

Deb Hanlon posted: 'Run as far as possible from that abusive environment. Seek legal advice because on so many levels this place is breaking the law.'

My friend's feet were bleeding to the point she lost a toe nail and she was still discouraged and berated by the shift manager for changing into flats. Nicola Gavins

Carlos Vargas posted: 'Just tell people to boycott this restaurant. It's crap to expect a woman to stand for eight hours in heels.'

While Joanne Cook made her point with sarcasm. She wrote: 'Well, I will only tip waitresses with heels on. I don't want no flat-shoed waitress bringing me food.

'Oh wait, hang on. No I don't because that would be ludicrous. I couldn't care less what they have on their feet, I just want my food. They could wear clown shoes for all I care.'

Although some people posted the waitress should quit her job if she didn't like the conditions, although many supporters hit back that it wasn't that easy.

Hazel Blom was shocked and wrote: 'It took me a minute but then I realised that the red was blood. That's physically and mentally inhumane.'

While Lucas Parker wrote: 'I just don't understand why women wear heels to begin with, looks like pain in every step.'

Nicola later posted an image which she claimed was part of the Joey's handbook which includes women must wear a 'minimum one inch heel and a maximum three inch heel.'

Facebook users were outraged by the policy although Joe's restaurant later said 'there s no minimum height when it comes to our shoe policy'

But she wrote, despite this guideline, her waitress friend was told to 'wear two inch heels'.

Britt Innes, VP Marketing for JOEY Restaurant Group, told MailOnline: 'The moment we saw this post I reached out to connect with the partner (employee) right away. Our partners` feedback is extremely important to us, so I wanted to hear directly from her about her experience.

'After speaking with her, we followed up with our management team at this location and also sent out company-wide communication to ensure everyone has the correct information and training materials around our policies and guidelines.

In March there was considerable media attention on dress code in the service industry and this started a great internal dialogue with our partners. We conducted audits and sent out a survey to get our partners` anonymous insights and feedback. The major learning from our partners was that they wanted a change in our shoe guidelines. We made these changes and rolled this out in late March.

'However, it is clear that it did not reach every partner and I take ownership for that. In retrospect, we should have ensured all outdated training materials were destroyed.

'Our current shoe guidelines require both male and female partners to wear a black dress shoe that is non-slip with a thick sole for safety reasons. Under this guide, they choose what is comfortable for them. There is no minimum height when it comes to our shoe policy. Shoes range from black dress flats, wedges and heels. For those employees who choose to wear heels, we require the heel height to be no higher than 2.5”. I have attached the updated Shoe Guideline for your reference.

'In regards to the two other points that came up in the post I wanted to clarify that we have always strictly followed provincial regulations regarding training pay. We do not charge a fee for uniforms. We do require a refundable deposit for serving related equipment from both male and female partners. This deposit is not a fee and is repaid upon return of these items.

'As you can understand, we were troubled to see this image circulating. After speaking with the partner our next step was to investigate the situation in all of our restaurants, with all of our management teams. We are ensuring everyone is clear about the updated shoe guidelines.