Teasing one of the lads in the workplace for being bald could now get you into a hairy situation in the UK..A panel of judges — who happened to be bald — have ruled that calling someone "baldy" could land you in hot water..A man's complaint about an incident at work went to an employment tribunal. The employee reported having been called a "fat bald c***," at work by his colleague, Jamie King, according to a report Thursday..Tony Finn, the complainant, had worked for a West Yorkshire-based company for nearly 24 years when he was fired in May 2021..Finn alleged that during a shop floor row that almost erupted into violence in July 2019, Mr King had insulted him about his follicular status..Finn took his grievances to the tribunal following the incident with his supervisor claiming he'd been the victim of sex harassment..Hair loss is far more common for men than it is for women, so using it as a context to describe someone with hair loss is considered a form of sex discrimination, a judge found..Other slurs in general use include "chrome dome," "cue ball" "follicly challenged," and "skullet.".More than 35% of men will experience some form of male pattern baldness at some point in their life, and a receding hairline is one of the most common cases and a starting point for men who experience hair loss and balding..The accusation resulted in the tribunal judges, headed by Judge Jonathan Brain, deliberating whether King’s baldness smear was just an insult or qualified as 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 tribunal said. “We find it to be inherently related to sex.”.The panel agreed calling a man "bald" was akin to making comments about a woman's breasts..The tribunal learned that Finn was more aggrieved by the comment about his lack of hair than the egregious use of the 'C' word..The ruling noted that the company’s lawyer “was right to submit that women as well as men may be bald” but contended that “baldness is much more prevalent in men than women.”.“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,” it added..The panel decided insulting Finn for his bald head was “degrading” and “humiliating.”.“This is strong language. Although, as we find, industrial language was commonplace on this West Yorkshire factory floor, in our judgment Mr. King crossed the line by making remarks personal to the claimant about his appearance.”.“It is difficult to conclude other than that Mr. King uttered those words with the purpose of violating [Mr. Finn’s] dignity and creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating, or offensive environment for him,” it states. “Of his own admission, Mr. King’s intention was to threaten [Mr. Finn] and to insult him.”.Along with upholding Finn’s sex harassment claim, the tribunal ruled the company had dismissed him without cause after having served the company for 24 years..Finn’s financial compensation will be determined at a later date.
Teasing one of the lads in the workplace for being bald could now get you into a hairy situation in the UK..A panel of judges — who happened to be bald — have ruled that calling someone "baldy" could land you in hot water..A man's complaint about an incident at work went to an employment tribunal. The employee reported having been called a "fat bald c***," at work by his colleague, Jamie King, according to a report Thursday..Tony Finn, the complainant, had worked for a West Yorkshire-based company for nearly 24 years when he was fired in May 2021..Finn alleged that during a shop floor row that almost erupted into violence in July 2019, Mr King had insulted him about his follicular status..Finn took his grievances to the tribunal following the incident with his supervisor claiming he'd been the victim of sex harassment..Hair loss is far more common for men than it is for women, so using it as a context to describe someone with hair loss is considered a form of sex discrimination, a judge found..Other slurs in general use include "chrome dome," "cue ball" "follicly challenged," and "skullet.".More than 35% of men will experience some form of male pattern baldness at some point in their life, and a receding hairline is one of the most common cases and a starting point for men who experience hair loss and balding..The accusation resulted in the tribunal judges, headed by Judge Jonathan Brain, deliberating whether King’s baldness smear was just an insult or qualified as 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 tribunal said. “We find it to be inherently related to sex.”.The panel agreed calling a man "bald" was akin to making comments about a woman's breasts..The tribunal learned that Finn was more aggrieved by the comment about his lack of hair than the egregious use of the 'C' word..The ruling noted that the company’s lawyer “was right to submit that women as well as men may be bald” but contended that “baldness is much more prevalent in men than women.”.“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,” it added..The panel decided insulting Finn for his bald head was “degrading” and “humiliating.”.“This is strong language. Although, as we find, industrial language was commonplace on this West Yorkshire factory floor, in our judgment Mr. King crossed the line by making remarks personal to the claimant about his appearance.”.“It is difficult to conclude other than that Mr. King uttered those words with the purpose of violating [Mr. Finn’s] dignity and creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating, or offensive environment for him,” it states. “Of his own admission, Mr. King’s intention was to threaten [Mr. Finn] and to insult him.”.Along with upholding Finn’s sex harassment claim, the tribunal ruled the company had dismissed him without cause after having served the company for 24 years..Finn’s financial compensation will be determined at a later date.
