THE “SEX” X- FACTOR?

With series 8 of the X-Factor drawing to a close, fans will be eager to find out who this year’s winner will be. Statistically, the winner is likely to be male. Of 7 previous winners, 5 were male so chances are that it will be this time round too. However, despite the audience’s penchant for male X-Factor winners, record companies seem to prefer females.

The international success of both Leona Lewis and Alexandra Burke is in stark contrast to the relatively paltry singing careers of their male counterparts. Does this highlight a sex discrimination issue in the record industry? Are record labels reluctant to sign up and invest in males? Steve Brookstein (series 1), Leon Jackson (series 4) and Joe McElderry (series 5) have all been dropped from their record labels, leading to speculation that male artists are simply not attracting the same level of investment. There is currently speculation that Matt Cardle, last years winner, will follow suit later this year.

Of course, if X-Factor winners were employees they would be protected by employment legislation which prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender. A policy of investing less in males, together with having a workforce that is indicative of a recruitment bias towards females would lead to the risk of a very expensive sex discrimination claim.

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Focus on ...Compensation

Recent tribunal statistics demonstrate the shocking amounts of compensation awarded in discrimination claims. The statistics reveal a 56% increase in accepted claims, obviously a cause for concern for businesses. Interestingly, compensation awards for Disability Discrimination claims are highest, resulting in an average award of £52,087!

Empire HR has drawn up a list of average compensation awards for each type of discrimination:

TYPE OF DISCRIMINATION	AVERAGE AWARD	BIGGEST AWARD
Disability	£52,087	£729,347
Sexual Orientation	£20,384	£163,725
Sex Discrimination	£19,449	£422,366
Race Discrimination	£18,584	£374,922
Age Discrimination	£10,931	£48,710
Religious Discrimination	£4,886	£9,500

When considering these figures it's important to bear in mind that a very high percentage of claims are actually settled before it gets to the tribunal stage. The figures also fail to take into account the legal fees incurred by businesses in defending the claims.

Case Law: Pregnancy gossip could amount to harassment

The case of Nixon v Ross Coates Solicitors and another (UKEAT/0108/10) has confirmed that gossip relating to a pregnancy can amount to harassment and discrimination. Ms Nixon was seen kissing a colleague at the work Christmas party and going into a hotel room with him. When she announced her pregnancy a few weeks later, the HR manager openly speculated and engaged in gossip about who the father might be.

Ms Nixon raised a grievance about the gossip and conduct of the HR manager, but it was not upheld and the time she took off work as a result of the issue was unpaid.

Ms Nixon subsequently won a claim for constructive dismissal and sex discrimination.

The Employment Appeal Tribunal held that since the gossip, conduct and unpaid time off work was related to her pregnancy it was covered by the Sex Discrimination Act and met the definition of Sexual Harassment.