In a new legal first, a tribunal has ruled that calling a man ‘bald’ is a form of sexual harassment, concluding the use of the term to describe someone as a form of prejudice and discrimination.
Man called “bald” and fired from long time job sues company over harassment
After being insulted, called ” bald c**t,” and fired from his longtime job, a man took the company to court and won his case after an employment tribunal determined it was discrimination and harassment.
Tony Finn, now 64, an electrician employed for 24 years with the British Bung Company, had an incident with factory supervisor Jamie King, nearly 30 years younger, who made a derogatory comment about the older man’s lack of hair, LADBible reported.
“I was working on a machine that I had to cover awaiting specialist repair,” Finn told the tribunal. “The covers were taken off, and it was apparent that Jamie King had done this.”
“When I spoke to him about it,” Finn explained, “he began to call me a stupid old bald c**t and threatened to ”deck me.”’
The pair nearly came to blows, Finn said, telling the tribunal he had been left “fearful for my personal safety,” the Daily Mail reported
Fired by the company after reporting incident
Finn wrote up a statement about the incident with help from his son Robert, who is a police officer, using official West Yorkshire police letterhead.
He handed his write up to his bosses at the company, who at first believed he had reported the incident as a crime. Finn told them it was not his intention to make it appear like an official police document. However, the company accused him of trying to intimidate them and fired him for misconduct.
Finn then took his case to court.
Calling a man bald at work is sexual harassment, tribunal rules
Finn acquired an attorney and brought claims of unfair dismissal, wrongful dismissal, being subjected to detriments, age discrimination, and sexual harassment.
The tribunal heard testimony from Finn, the company, and other employees. The tribunal was composed of three men who commented about their own lack of hair during the case.
Mr. Finn testified that he was less upset by the “Anglo-Saxon” language than he was by the comment on his appearance.
Court compares “bald” comparable to commenting on a woman’s breasts
Attorneys for the company tried to argue that women, as well as men, may be bald.
However, all three tribunal members argued that baldness is much more prevalent in men than women.
“In our judgment, there is a connection between the word ”bald’ on the one hand and the protected characteristic of sex on the other,” the panel said. “We find it to be inherently related to sex.”
The court then brought up a previous case where a man was found to have sexually harassed a woman by remarking on her breast size to establish their point.
“‘It is much more likely that a person on the receiving end of a comment such as that which was made in (that) case would be female,” the panel said. “So too, it is much more likely that a person on the receiving end of a remark such as that made by Mr. King would be male.”
Man wins all charges except one
Finn won all of his claims except for age discrimination. The tribunal ruled that King had not called him “old,” only a “bald **t.”
Finn’s compensation will be determined at a later date, and the payout will be reduced, as the tribunal ruled he contributed to his dismissal through his conduct.
