- U.K. employment tribunal argued that the use of the word “bald” as an insult related to a “protected characteristic of sex
- The judges concluded that hair loss is much more prevalent among men than women so using it to describe someone is a form of discrimination
- Commenting on a man’s baldness in the workplace is equivalent to remarking on the size of a woman’s breasts
A British tribunal has decided that calling a man “bald” is sexual harassment.
Comparison and contrast
The tribunal said calling a man was a form of discrimination comparable to commenting on the size of a woman’s breasts, based on case law dating back to 1995.
The three-judge bench made the ruling in a case involving a seasoned electrician, Tony Finn, and the British manufacturing firm Bung.
Finn had been working at the manufacturer for 24 years when he was fired in May last year over what he terms a case of sexual harassment.
Finn claimed that one of the manufacturer’s supervisors, Jamie King, ‘crossed the line’ by making unnecessary comments about his appearance.
King is said to have referred to Finn as bald during the incident, which saw the electrician lose his job.
Finn presented the case before the tribunal to determine whether the baldness remark was an insult or a form of harassment.
“We have little doubt that being referred to in this pejorative manner was unwanted conduct as far as [Finn] was concerned. This is strong language. In our judgment, King crossed the line by making remarks personal to the claimant about his appearance,” the tribunal found according to the Telegraph.
“It is difficult to conclude that King uttered those words to violate Finn’s dignity and create an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for him,” they added.
The panel also referred to a previous sexual assault case in which a man was charged with sexual assault after being found guilty of commenting on the size of a woman’s breast.
“It is much more likely that a person on the receiving end of a comment such as that made in [that] case would be female. So too, it is much more likely that a person on the receiving end of a remark such as that made by King would be male,” the Tribunal said.
Finn will now be compensated for wrongful and unfair dismissal and sexual harassment following the decree.
He, however, lost an additional claim for age discrimination after the bench ruled that King did not refer to him once using his age. As a result, Finn’s compensation will be determined later.
Fathers granted custody of minor
In a separate story TUKO.co.ke, reported that a court granted fathers equal rights to raise underage children in landmark ruling.
The ruling was made in a case in which a foreigner and his estranged former girlfriend had been engaged in a legal dispute over the custody of their four-year-old son.
While giving the man physical custody of the child, the court ruled that the father was the most suitable person to take care of the minor.
Source: TUKO.co.ke
