Bald teacher loses disability claim 

A retired schoolteacher who claimed he was a victim of disability discrimination because he is bald has lost his tribunal claim. James Campbell alleged that he was teased and bullied about baldness by pupils to such an extent that he left the school later at night to avoid any contact with them.

James Campbell, a former art teacher at Denny High School in Stirlingshire, took Falkirk Council to an employment tribunal claiming a contravention of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA). He told the Glasgow tribunal he had suffered from harassment at the hands of pupils because of his baldness.

Mr Campbell said pupils at the school perceived his baldness as a weakness. He said he avoided corridors in the school to avoid pupils shouting ”baldy” at him and that he left school later at night, after the bell went, to avoid the children.

He claimed his baldness had a substantial and long term adverse effect on his ability to do his job. This was on the basis that he could not stand in front of a class with confidence when he was getting teased and bullied about baldness and he perceived that the pupils were laughing at him all the time.

The tribunal judge said baldness was not an impairment, and furthermore, could not possibly be characterised as something which had a negative impact on any one of the normal day-to-day activities set out in the DDA. 

According to the tribunal, if baldness was to be regarded as impairment then perhaps a physical feature such as a big nose, big ears or being smaller than average height might of themselves be regarded as an impairment under the DDA. That could not possibly be the right position, given the provisions of the DDA, the guidance and relevant case law.