A man being called “bald” is sexual harassment, an employment tribunal has ruled.
Tony Finn, 64, claimed he had been a victim of sexual harassment when his manufacturing firm colleague said he was a “bald c***”.
The panel sitting at Sheffield agreed and compared it to when someone mentions a woman’s breasts.
The ruling – made by a panel of three men who pointed out their own lack of hair – comes in a case between a veteran electrician and his employers.
Mr Finn was fired in May last year from the West Yorkshire-based British Bung Company where he had worked for 24 years and had an “unblemished record”.
In a statement Mr Finn told the tribunal about several incidents in which the term was used and he was fearful of violence. His colleague denied using the term and said: “I did not threaten Tony.”
The tribunal heard Mr Finn wrote a statement with his police officer son on official police paper.
When this was handed to his bosses at the firm, which makes wooden cask closures for the brewing industry, they accused him of trying to intimidate them and fired him.
The tribunal said of the bald comment: “It was a violation of the claimant’s dignity, it created an intimidating environment for him, and it related to the claimant’s sex.”
Mr Finn is in line for compensation after winning claims of unfair dismissal, wrongful dismissal and being subjected to sex harassment.