A British court ruled Wednesday that a supervisor sexually harassed an employee by calling him bald. File Photo by Activedia/Pixabay
May 13 (UPI) -- In Britain, calling a man bald can now be classified as sexual harassment, an employment tribunal ruled Wednesday.
The tribunal said calling a man bald was akin to commenting on the size of woman's breasts, based on case law dating back to 1995. The case involved Tony Finn, an electrician at British Bung Manufacturing, who was threatened by his shift supervisor, Jamie King, and called a "bald" expletive.
Finn was eventually fired in 2019.
The tribunal said the insult violated Finn's "dignity, it created an intimidating environment for him, it was done for that purpose, and it related to the claimant's sex."
Employment judge Jonathan Brain said he believed the comment was made as a form of intimidation.
"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," Brain said, according to the Evening Standard. "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."
Finn also won claims of unfair dismissal, wrongful dismissal along with sexual harassment. The court did not agree on his claims of age discrimination. The tribunal will determine compensation at a later date.
Employment judge Jonathan Brain said he believed the comment was made as a form of intimidation.
"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," Brain said, according to the Evening Standard. "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."
Finn also won claims of unfair dismissal, wrongful dismissal along with sexual harassment. The court did not agree on his claims of age discrimination. The tribunal will determine compensation at a later date.
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