A British Court has ruled that calling a man bald is a form of sexual harassment.
A three-judge bench argued that since hair loss is common in men, calling a man bald, especially in workplaces is equal to commenting on the size of a woman’s breast.
The judges made the ruling in a court battle pitting season electrician Tony Finn and British manufacturing firm Bung.
Finn who had been working at Bung for more than 24 years was fired in May 2021 following a heated confrontation with one of his supervisors who made unnecessary comments about his appearance.
The supervisor, Jamie King termed Finn as bald in an incident that saw him lose his job.
Finn headed to court to establish whether the baldness remark was an insult or a form of harassment.
According to Telegraph, the tribunal ruled in favour of Finn, arguing that King made the remarks with the aim of creating an intimidating environment for the complainant.
“We have little doubt that being referred to in this pejorative manner was unwanted conduct as far as [Finn] was concerned. This is strong language. In our judgment King crossed the line by making remarks personal to the claimant about his appearance
“It is difficult to conclude other than that King uttered those words with the purpose of violating [Finn’s] dignity and creating an intimidating hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for him,” the tribunal ruled.
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Finn will now be compensated for wrongful and unfair dismissal and sexual harassment.
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