Calling workmates 'lads' may be sexual harassment

USING the phrase “lads” at work could count as sex harassment, an employment tribunal has ruled.

- By Charlie Bradley

The panel warned that “casual use of gender-specific language” might well be perceived as patronising by female members of staff.

The ruling came in the case of a high-flying food executive who complained about her male boss’s use of the phrase, “Lads, lads” when discussing the performance of a colleague who was a woman.

Sally Ellis - who earned £95,000 a year — said she was annoyed with Matthew Briggs’ language which she claimed was “insulting, rude and derogatory”.