Mr Finn was working as an electrician at the respondent company, British Bung Manufacturing Company Ltd (BBMC), when he was threatened by a colleague and called a “bald c***”.
On 24 July 2019, the Employment Tribunal held that the insult satisfied the criteria for harassment relating to sex, stating that it amounted to “unwanted conduct related to sex”.
BBMC appealed the decision, arguing that a characteristic should be exclusively applicable to one sex in order to meet the criteria. As both women and men could be affected by baldness, for example due to alopecia, it could not be attributable to just men.
However, the EAT held that the Tribunal correctly made its decision. A characteristic does not need to be solely connected to one sex for it to be inherently related to sex. Baldness is much more prevalent in men than in woman and this was sufficient to show that the remark constitutes harassment relating to sex.
Comments
This highlights the importance for employers to address harassment in the workplace, including in industries where derogatory remarks are often minimised as “banter”.
Employers should have robust equal opportunity and anti-harassment policies in place. There should also be a clear understanding of what is acceptable conduct and language in the workplace and what procedure to follow to make a report.
Have you got the right policies and support in place in your business?
Talk to us at Peach Law, we can work with you on your strategy and ongoing support for your employees.
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