Calling out 'bald' at workplace a sexual harrasment, court rules
By Team Newsable | First Published May 14, 2022, 1:46 PM ISTThe panel agreed that the lawyer for the firm, British Bung Manufacturing Company Limited, was correct in arguing that both men and women may be bald. "However, as all three members of the tribunal would attest, baldness is far more common in males than in women. We believe it is essentially tied to sex," the court writes.
An employment tribunal in England has ruled that calling a guy bald in the workplace constitutes sexual harassment. The three-person panel, chaired by Judge Jonathan Brain, had to decide if a remark about someone's lack of hair was an insult or harassment.
Tony Finn filed a lawsuit for wrongful dismissal and sex discrimination against the West Yorkshire-based British Bung Company, where he worked as an electrician for 24 years until being sacked in May of last year.
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"In our opinion, there is a link between the word 'bald' on the one hand and the protected trait of sex on the other," the decision stated.
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The panel agreed that the lawyer for the firm, British Bung Manufacturing Company Limited, was correct in arguing that both men and women may be bald. "However, as all three members of the tribunal would attest, baldness is far more common in males than in women. We believe it is essentially tied to sex," the court writes.
The case was tried in Sheffield, England, between February and April of this year.
Finn had spent nearly 24 years with the firm, which makes wooden barrel closures for the brewing industry in Yorkshire, in the northeast of England. He was sacked last year, and the circumstances surrounding his departure were also investigated.
In a July 2019 altercation, Finn claimed that his shift supervisor, Jamie King, called him a "bald c—-" and threatened him.
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Finn's compensation will be determined at a later date after his allegations of sexual harassment, unfair dismissal, and wrongful dismissal were upheld earlier this week. A similar age discrimination suit was rejected. Finn's allegation was based on a "altercation" in July 2019 during which manufacturing supervisor Jamie King allegedly alluded to his lack of hair during an argument.
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