�18,000 for the woman who was taunted for being ginger

[AB Asks]

A woman who was ridiculed for her ginger hair has been awarded �18,000. The woman was harassed in her place of work - a kebab shop. The woman said she was surprised at the amount she was awarded but said the comments dented her confidence and self-esteem. In her place of work she was also asked intimate details about her sex life. What do you think? Is this a ridiculous amount of money for someone being taunted over the colour of their hair?

[jno]

perhaps the sexual harassment also played a part? That's not nice. It all sounds like workplace bullying; doesn't matter if it was in Microsoft or a kebab shop.

[suffragette]

I agree with jno. As a redhead myself, I have experienced a great deal of banter about my hair colour, but you learn to shrug it off. I would suspect the court, as opposed to the tabloids, was more concerned with the sexual harrassment and general bullying. Apparently, when she complained about the abuse, her bosses told her that women should be quiet and not argue with men. Says a lot about their attitude to women, doesn't it?

[vehelpfulguy]

It is a ridiculous amount when you see what some of the people who were injured in the 7/7 bombings got.

The family of someone killed got �11,000

A man who lost his leg got �44,000

A woman who lost both legs got �110,000

And this woman gets �18000 for getting a bit of ribbing about her ginger hair (not condoning it but she can get another job, what about the lady who lost both legs)

More about payments here:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4307810.stm

[ludwig]

I don't have the details but I believe this was actually a sustained and unrelenting campaign of workplace bullying, and not just a couple of comments about ginger hair. Bullies often try and find some distinguishing feature (often physical) as a hook on which to hang their bullying.
That's all the hair was in this case.
Depending on how long this went on etc, I'd say it could well be a perfectly reasonable amount.

[jenstar]

Once again AB Asks deliberately misrepresents a story to try to provoke a kneejerk reaction. When will he/she/it learn?

[Reverandfunk]

Blo*dy hell bet she could buy a lot of just for men with 18k, being ginger she's bound to look like a bloke as well....

[Oneeyedvic]

"It is a ridiculous amount when you see what some of the people who were injured in the 7/7 bombings got. "

How do you even start to compare the two. Bear in mind that the award would be against the company who

The incident mentioned above was avoidable and she will presumably be paid that money by the company who was guilty of unfair dismissal and sexual harassment.

The compensation given to the victims of the 7/7 bombings are from the government and that was a non predictable event.

[ELVIS68]

I`m suprised they employed a ginger in the first place, presuming it was a Turkish run kebab shop....(the only English one is on Corrie) ...they normally go for blondes

[Leilapups]

I suppose no -one would really get riled up and respond to the information that someone has been awared compensation for work place bullying/harrasment. However by foregrounding the issue of ginger hair, the implication is that the money is about this and not the harrasment.
Oneeyevic has correclty, as so often, identified that the matters of compensation by an employeer and by the government are completey different and therefore not comparable in terms of amounts.
There may well be a reason to lobby your MP and request that taxation is increased inorder to grant more generous compensation to individuals who suffer in cases such as those vehelpfulguy mentions. But that would be anouther post.

[chompu]

Yes I think AB is guilty of tabloid type questioning. Fuller story here.

http://www.thisisplymouth.co.uk/displayNode.js p?nodeId=181429&command=displayContent&sourceN ode=229968&home=yes&more_nodeId1=133174&conten tPK=17659081#views

[Kim A]

Perhaps i've been lucky, or perhaps I'm just not as bloody precious as some people, but for goodness sake, are there not worse things one can be ridiculed for than having red hair - and I speak as a red head, so I think I'm qualified to comment!

�18K? The law is an ass and this person needs to toughen up a bit.

[Le Chat]

I have a fat giner tom called Hucknall.

[Oneeyedvic]

So Kim, what colour is your pubic hair?

Do you think it acceptable that I ask you this? What about if I asked you this in front of lots of other men, we asked you to prove it etc etc.

A person was bullied by not just the colour of her hair but also sexually harassed.

It is not public money that she is being given but money from her employer - it is also acting as a fine to her employer and as a warning to other employers - don't let managers bully their staff as we will act and we will fine you a large amount.

[Kim A]

well, duh, what colour do you think it is?
and quite frankly, as an adult, it wouldn't bother me - I've been asked a lot worse and, in my experience, acting all coy and getting upset when asked a personal question is like waving a 'come and beat me up again' flag at bullies. I've found, over the years that answering questions directly and honestly, even the most offensive, is so unexpected and disarming to your average f@@@wit, that they just don't know what to do.

[ruby27]

Oneeyevic
you can only lead a horse to water
some black and EM people never experince racism - its was just me mates joking
some women never experince sexual harrassment it was only flirting
some people never exeperince domestic abuse, he/she only hit me becasue I was bang out of order
I am sure there are many more instances

[netibiza]

.....................reaches for the dye bottle.......................

[fran2]

Like others here, I see this as sexual harrassment and bullying. People with ginger hair have always been the target for abuse from childhood to adult. Lord knows why, I love ginger hair and the freckles in warm weather. Good on her I say for making a stand aginst the abusers.