(Molly Bruns, Headline USA) Calling a man “bald” is now considered sexual harassment, according to an employment tribunal in Sheffield, England, the Mirror reported.
Tony Finn, 64, claimed he was a victim of sexual harassment when a colleague of his at a manufacturing firm said he was an “old, bald c***.”
The Sheffield panel agreed that this was the case, comparing it to when a person refers to a woman’s breasts.
The ruling was made by a panel of three other bald men. The case was between a veteran electrician and his employers.
Finn was fired from the company, a West Yorkshire-based British Bunch Company, where he had worked for 24 years and had an “unblemished record.”
Finn also claimed that this term had been used in several separate incidents, and he was afraid of violence being done against him.
Jamie King, the man who made the comments, claimed he “did not threaten Tony.”
Finn claims that the company did not do anything to assess the situation and simply let him quit. When a lawsuit was brought to the people in charge they accused him of trying to intimidate them and fired him.
“It was a violation of the claimant’s dignity, it created an intimidating environment for him, and it related to the claimant’s sex,” the tribunal said in a statement.
Social media users were quick to point out that while balding is more common among men, calling a man bald “sexual harassment” does not seem right.
It is harassment related to sex, not sexual harassment (different test)
— Audrey Ludwig (@AudreySuffolk) May 13, 2022
I have to admit, I don’t understand how that is sexual harassment.
— Nicholas Diable (@Defencebrief) May 12, 2022
Finn is expected to receive compensation on the terms of unfair dismissal, wrongful dismissal and subjection to sex harassment.
