Baldness not a disability, tribunal rules

STIRLINGSHIRE, Scotland - James Campbell, 61, a former art teacher at Denny High School in Stirlingshire, Scotland has failed in his bid to prove that he was discriminated against because of his baldness.

Campbell took the Falkirk Council to a Glasgow employment tribunal over the issue, claiming that he had suffered from harassment at the hands of pupils and that his baldness had a "substantial and long term adverse effect" on his ability to do his job.

The former teacher, who retired in 2007, said he avoided corridors in the school where he would meet pupils to avoid them shouting ''baldy."  He added: ''I left school later at night after the bell went to avoid the kids."  Speaking during the hearing, Campbell asked: "How can I stand in front of a class with confidence to get on with my job when I am getting teased and bullied about baldness, when I think they are laughing at me all the time?"

Tribunal judge Robert Gall dismissed the complaint. In his view, the fact that Campbell's baldness was used by others to taunt him did not mean it was a disability under Scotland's Disability Discrimination Act (DDA). "If baldness was to be regarded as an 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," Gall stated. "That, to me, cannot be right."

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