An employment judge has declared the term "gents" is "old-fashioned" and inappropriate for today's workplace.
Dawn Shotter, presiding over an employment tribunal in Liverpool, made the ruling whilst hearing a claim brought by Elaine Scott against Royal & Sun Alliance, one of Britain's largest insurance companies.
The female employee, who ultimately lost her case, sued for sex discrimination after receiving group emails from her department head addressed to "gents", arguing this demonstrated bias during a redundancy process.
While the tribunal agreed the language was "unacceptable today" in corporate settings, it concluded the emails represented "managerial incompetence" rather than a breach of equality law.
A stock image of a corporate meeting
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Scott began working for the multinational company in 2015 in its Liverpool office's cash management department.
In 2022, she and a male colleague faced potential redundancy during a reorganisation following the sale of part of the business.
Managers directed Scott towards possible redeployment opportunities, though the tribunal heard she did not express interest in these positions.
During the redundancy process, treasury department head Gareth Quantrill sent two emails to staff addressed to "gents", which were primarily intended for male managers but were copied to Scott.
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The tribunal agreed the language was 'unacceptable today' in corporate settings
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Quantrill admitted in evidence that he had only been considering the named male recipients when composing the emails.
He acknowledged his language had been "thoughtless" and "lazy", stating he did not have Scott's gender in mind during the redundancy process.
The tribunal determined there had been a genuine redundancy situation at the company and rejected Scott's discrimination claim.
"The description gents is an example of old-fashioned language in a corporate environment that is unacceptable today," Shotter stated in her ruling.
Treasury department head Gareth Quantrill sent two emails to staff addressed to 'gents', which were primarily intended for male managers but were copied to Scott.
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However, the judge concluded that whilst the term was not "inclusive", it did not constitute sex discrimination in this instance.
The ruling follows another recent employment tribunal case where judge Sarah Jane Davies found that using "lads" at work could constitute sexual harassment as "unwanted conduct".
That case involved a female executive who complained about her male boss using "lads" when discussing a female colleague's performance.
The tribunal ruled those comments were "unwanted" and "thoughtless" but did not violate the woman's "dignity".
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