Telling a pregnant colleague a kick in the testicles is worse than childbirth has been found to be harassment

Harassment at Work

A recent Employment Tribunal has considered messages shared in a company-wide group chat and found them to be harassment relating to sex due to their unwanted, crude nature and the impact they had on the claimant.

What does the law say?

Under S26 of the Equality Act 2010:

A person (A) harasses another (B) if—

• A engages in unwanted conduct related to a relevant protected characteristic, and
• the conduct has the purpose or effect of—
• violating B’s dignity, or
• creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for B.

A also harasses B if—

• A engages in unwanted conduct of a sexual nature, and
• the conduct has the purpose or effect referred to in subsection (1)(b).

The Case: Ms A Hope v Ola Electric UK Private Limited

After learning of the pregnancy of a colleague, a lead engineer shared a message on a company-wide group chat, stating that:

“Women say that giving birth is way more painful than a bloke getting kicked in the bollocks. Here is proof that they are wrong. A year or so after giving birth a woman will often say ‘It’d be nice to have another baby’. You never hear a bloke say, ‘I wouldn’t mind another kick in the bollocks”.

The message was shared with all staff but was specifically directed to the claimant, Ms Hope.

Several employees reacted to the message with laughing faces and a thumbs up emoji, including the Claimant’s line manager.

On another occasion the Claimant made a comment on her pregnancy bump, sharing that she was concerned it was not showing, or growing. In response another male colleague made a remark about her breast size not increasing by stating “Never mind the bump, the boob fairy hasn’t been either.” 

Whilst the Claimant sought to laugh this off at the time, his response to such concerns made her feel insulted, disgusted and objectified that whilst sharing her concerns with her pregnancy, a senior manager was looking at the size of her breasts.

The Claimant brought several claims, including sex discrimination, unfair dismissal, pregnancy and maternity discrimination and harassment related to sex. All of which were dismissed, apart from her claim of harassment related to sex for the above points, which was well-founded and successful.

In considering the group chat message the judge accepted that there was a good working relationship between the Claimant and her male colleague, and that it was often the case that humorous remarks were shared. However, the unwanted nature of the conduct being related to sex, and the impact it had on the Claimant was found to be harassment. Her manager responding to the message with a thumbs up emoji was also found to be harassment as this compounded her upset and made her feel belittled in front of her colleagues.

In respect of the comment made about her breasts, the judge found that whilst the male employee did not intend for his comment to be hurtful, it plainly was and that there was no relevant context that might have explained or justified such a remark.

How to avoid harassment claims

1. Clear policies

Ensure your sexual harassment policy is updated and available.

2. Train staff

All staff should be trained to understand sexual harassment in the workplace. Often issues arise through ignorance of the law and what behaviour is and isn’t acceptable in the workplace in 2026.

3. Lead by example

Consider separate training for managers to understand their own obligations and to take action when issues arise.

Avoid the use of group chats in the workplace

More and more we are seeing employers have informal group chats as a means of communicating across several teams or departments.

Whilst this method of communicating is an efficient way of ensuring all staff have been contacted, it only takes one message, one “joke” or poor attempt of “banter” for things to escalate and situations like those above to happen.

The messages and content shared into a group chat can very quickly be forwarded, screenshotted and shared with others. With multiple employees having access to a group chat, misinformation or jokes can easily reach others or even be shared on social media. We recommend that employers consider alternative methods of communication to staff to reduce the risk of harassment arising and seek to monitor staff communications if they are aware that group chats exist.

Our team can assist with a range of enquiries. If you have been subjected to unwanted conduct at work relating to sex and would like our support, please contact us on 01983 897003.

You can read the full judgment in this case here: https://www.gov.uk/employment-tribunal-decisions/ms-a-hope-v-ola-electric-uk-private-ltd-1306178-slash-2024