An employment tribunal has found that calling someone bald at work constituted sexual harassment.
The decision concerns Tony Finn’s claim against the British Bung Company in West Yorkshire, where he worked as an electrician for 24 years before being fired in May 2021.
He claimed he was subjected to sexual harassment as a result of comments regarding his lack of hair, including being referred to as a “bald c***” by factory supervisor Jamie King during a heated dispute in 2019.
“I was working on an equipment that I had to cover awaiting specialised repair,” Mr Finn explained to the panel.
Jamie King had removed the coverings, and it was clear who had done it.
“When I mentioned it to him, he started calling me a foolish bald c*** and threatened to deck me.”
The claimant was “fearful for my personal safety” after the confrontation with Mr King, who is 30 years younger than Mr Finn.
Judge Jonathan Brain, who presided over the three-person tribunal, was asked to decide whether calling someone bald was an insult or harassment.
The verdict stated, “In our assessment, there is a relationship between the word ‘bald’ on the one hand and the protected characteristic of sex on the other.”
[The company’s lawyer] was correct in asserting that both men and women can be bald. Baldness is significantly more common in men than in women, as all three members of the tribunal will attest.
“We believe it is inextricably linked to sex.”
The tribunal stated that in a similar case, a man was found to have sexually harassed a lady by commenting on the size of her breasts and that it is more likely that the person receiving such a comment “would be female.”
“Similarly, a person on the receiving end of a statement like Mr King’s is significantly more likely to be male,” the tribunal stated.
Mr. King’s behaviour was unwelcome, it was a violation of the claimant’s dignity, it produced a frightening environment for him, it was done for that purpose, and it had something to do with the claimant’s sex.”
Groom rejected on wedding day for being bald
Mr Finn wrote a statement about the event with his son, who was a police officer, on official West Yorkshire Police paper and handed it to his employers, according to the tribunal.
Mr Finn stated that he did not intend for the statement to look like an official police document, but the firm accused him of attempting to intimidate them and sacked him for misconduct in July 2021.
Sexual harassment, unfair dismissal, and wrongful dismissal charges were maintained, however, an age discrimination claim was dismissed.
The court will appoint a date for determining the claimant’s compensation.
