UK: Harassment – Related to Sex

Authors: Corinna Harris and Stephen Miller 

Mr Finn was called “a bald c***” by a colleague, Mr King, and threatened with physical violence. He subsequently brought claims, including for harassment related to sex.

The tribunal found that the conduct amounted to harassment. Although the company argued that baldness is not an exclusively male characteristic, the tribunal found that  there was a connection between the word “bald” and the protected characteristic of sex. On appeal, the EAT agreed that the fact that something could potentially apply to both sexes did not mean that it could not be inherently related to sex. Although baldness affects men and women, it is more prevalent in men and is therefore inherently related to sex.

Key Action Points for Human Resources and In-House Counsel

This decision confirms that for a characteristic of a person’s appearance to relate to a protected characteristic it must be more prevalent in those who share the protected characteristic than in those who do not.

British Bung Manufacturing Company Ltd v Finn (Judgment was delivered in November 2023 and published on 3 October 2024.)