BegintheBeguine: My point was that in the milder cases many people feel guilty complaining about comments by coworkers (example: 'feeling like a redheaded stepchild') or what have you. I try to deal with my situations directly one-on-one before going to HR. In fact, I've never had to go to HR. I usually handle snide remarks by tossing it back with a sense of humor. They've already set the climate for verbal self-defence by then. It's very unPC, to say the least. Quite a different situation than you have had. From what Edward has posted, it sounds like there is an entirely different stereotype of red haired men in the UK than the USA.