Tony Finn, who worked at West Yorkshire manufacturing firm for 24 years, is in line for compensation
Calling a man “bald” is sexual harassment, an employment tribunal has ruled.
Hair loss is much more prevalent among men than women so using it to describe someone is a form of discrimination, a judge has concluded. Commenting on a man’s baldness in the workplace is equivalent to remarking on the size of a woman’s breasts, the finding suggests.
The ruling – made by a panel of three men who in making their judgment bemoaned their own lack of hair – comes in a case between a veteran electrician and the manufacturing firm where he was employed.
Tony Finn – who is in line for compensation – had worked for the West Yorkshire-based British Bung Company for almost 24 years when he was fired in May last year. He took the company to the tribunal claiming, among other things, he had been the victim of sexual harassment after an incident with the factory supervisor, Jamie King.
Finn alleged that during a shopfloor row in July 2019, King had referred to him as a “bald cunt”. The tribunal heard Finn was less upset by the “Anglo-Saxon” language than the comment on his appearance.
The allegation resulted in the panel – led by Judge Jonathan Brain – deliberating on whether remarking on his baldness was simply insulting or actually harassment.
“We have little doubt that being referred to in this pejorative manner was unwanted conduct as far as [Finn] was concerned,” the tribunal found. “This...
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