Mirfield electrician sexually harassed by baldness slur - tribunal

The judge said "industrial language" was commonplace on the factory floor, but Mr King "crossed the line"

An electrician whose supervisor made comments about his baldness was sexually harassed, an employment tribunal has ruled.

Tony Finn, an employee of the British Bung Company in Mirfield, West Yorkshire, clashed with supervisor Jamie King in 2019, the tribunal heard.

Mr King had used a phrase which was "unwanted" and "related to the claimant's sex", it found.

A wider judgement also ruled Mr Finn was unfairly dismissed in 2021.

Mr Finn was called bald, followed by an expletive, during an argument with Mr King, the tribunal was told.

In his ruling published this week, employment judge Jonathan Brain said: "Although, as we find, industrial language was commonplace on this West Yorkshire factory floor, in our judgment Mr King crossed the line by making remarks personal to the claimant about his appearance.

"In our judgment, there is a connection between the word 'bald', on the one hand, and the protected characteristic of sex on the other."

'Unblemished record'

However, the judge admitted a barrister representing the company was right to submit that women as well as men may be bald.

He added baldness was "much more" prevalent in men and was "inherently related to sex".

He found Mr King made the remark with a view to hurting Mr Finn by commenting on his appearance.

The judgment referred to a 1995 case which found that a woman had been sexually discriminated against when a manager made a single comment to her about the size of her breasts.

Judge Brain concluded: "It is much more likely that a person on the receiving end of a comment such as that which was made in the [1995] case would be female.

"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."

The finding of sexual harassment was part of a longer judgment which also found that Mr Finn was unfairly and wrongly dismissed in 2021 despite having "an unblemished disciplinary record over not far off 24 years of service".