Using the phrase 'lads' at work could count as sex harassment, an employment tribunal has ruled, as a £95,000-a-year executive is in line for compensation.
The use of the noun in a mixed work force may be 'unwanted conduct' based on sex, a judge has said.
Such 'casual use of gender-specific language' might well be perceived as patronising by female members of staff, the panel warned.
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 - a former executice at Cranswick Foods - said she was 'annoyed' with Matthew Briggs who she claimed was 'insulting, rude and derogatory'.
