A panel of three employment judges in the United Kingdom have ruled that calling a man bald constitutes sexual harassment.
According to Sky News, the decision was reached in relation to a claim brought by Tony Finn against the West Yorkshire-based British Bung Company, where he worked as an electrician for 24 years before he was fired in May 2021.
He complained that he was a victim of sexual harassment, due to comments made about his lack of hair, including being called a “bald c***” by factory supervisor Jamie King during an argument in 2019.
Describing the argument, Mr Finn told the panel: “I was working on a machine that I had to cover awaiting specialist repair.
“The covers were taken off, and it was apparent that Jamie King had done this.
“When I spoke to him about it, he began to call me a stupid bald c*** and threatened to deck me.”
The argument with Mr King, who is 30 years younger than Mr Finn, left the claimant “fearful for my personal safety”.
The three-person tribunal, led by Judge Jonathan Brain, was asked to rule whether calling someone bald is an insult or amounted to harassment.
“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 judgment said.
“[The company’s lawyer] was right to submit that women, as well as men, may be bald.
“However, as all three members of the tribunal will vouchsafe, baldness is much more prevalent in men than women.
“We find it to be inherently related to sex.”
The tribunal said that in a previous case a man was found to have sexually harassed a woman by commenting on the size of her breasts, stating that it is more likely the person receiving a comment “such as that which was 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 Mr King would be male,” the tribunal said.
Source: SKY NEWS
