Male colleague keeps barging me and making comments about my appearance

Regardless of their age, you need to pull men who are being inappropriate in the workplace. Next time he does something, question him

I had a senior staff member in his late 50’s catch me off guard the other morning - he said that if I show him mine, he’ll show me his’. I had been talking about something work specific when he decided to make the innuendo. I told him it was far too early for that sort of crap. I wish I had said ‘what do you mean exactly by your comment’ but it was literally far too early for that crap and my brain wasn’t working yet

Stooping to his level would be doing to him what he's doing to you, or something equally childish/PA. Going to management or HR & going through the correct company procedures isn't stooping to his level at all. Nobody should be behaving the way he is - whatever their age, however long their contract runs for & wherever they're going afterwards. And no employee should be subjected to physical battering or verbal insults.

I've known career military people & you're right, the forces won't want someone this childish & lazy.

Are people around when he does this? How about loudly saying “did you mean to just barge into me like that/roll your chair into me/comment on my appearance?”

And tell your line manager. Why should some jumped up little idiot treat you like that and get away with it?

He's assaulting you, I wouldn't even want to work with him let alone put up with it. Inform your manger and make a complaint, and tell him if he so much as touches you again you'll report him to the police.

Stop doing his work. Call him out loudly for every infringement. Go immediately to your line manager.

It is neither childish nor stooping to his level to report this kind of aggression to HR.

are you afraid you won’t be believed or that he will step up the spite?

I am not sure why you think the firing process would be lengthy. His behaviour would be considered in any reasonable workplace as gross misconduct which would warrant summary dismissal without notice.

I don't think you are aware of how many rights you have as an employee in this situation. Your employer has a legal duty to protect you from harassment and physical assault and provide you with a safe workplace. Your workplace isn't safe with him in it. You are doing him no favours by covering up the consequences of his actions; the sooner he learns that behaviour like this won't be tolerated at work, the better for him.

He's in the real world now. Time for him to grow up and behave himself.
I see bad behaviour all the time in secondary school where kids get away with bad behaviour and attitude. I often wonder how they fare in the workplace. Just like this I imagine. Probably never not got his own way all his life. Gross. Don't confront him. Report him.

If we are at the point where we have to teach young adults that physically assaulting others and making rude comments about someone's appearance at work is not ok. We are even more fucked than I thought.

He is being rude. He knows he is and is doing it on purpose. He deserves to be reported and suffer the hopefully termination level consequences.

He's young and inexperienced but he needs putting in his place. Report him and hopefully someone will give him a talking to and he can quickly grow up.

Last time someone deliberately bumped into me, I very loudly said said 'Don't bump into me like that' He looked like a berk.

The way I see it you have 2 choices:

1. Call him out on his behaviour next time it happens. Say “Why did you just push me? It’s not the first time”
2. Report to HR or your line manager. Manager would be the softer route than HR. In any case it needs dealing with, even if you do feel sorry for him it’s better he learns what he’s doing is actually bullying and unacceptable.

Report him.

He needs to know.

CarlaLemarchant · Today 15:57
Report, report, report. But also feel free to draw attention to it if/when it happens again. Find your confidence. “Ben, you’ve just shoulder barged me. It’s not the first time, stop it!” Loudly. And report again.

Came on to say exactly that. Embarrass him in front of everyone. Otherwise, it's your word against his in a complaint.

Clearly bullying, harassment and assault. Nip it in the bud. Can you imagine if he succeeded in his army career? He would make life so intolerable for any new recruits especially female. He needs to learn that what he is doing is totally unacceptable and you need to get a grip!!

Um yeah, that's assault. Report the little shit.

I’m astonished you’re letting him treat you like this! Where are your bollocks, OP? His youth isn’t an excuse to be a cunt!

Are you in your teens as well? You need to learn that when someone assaults you, you can and should do something about it.

He's old enough to work

How is he not old enough to know shoving people is wrong?
If a male colleague was taking the piss out of him for being lazy/incompetent, he wouldn't be shoulder barging them or whacking his chair into them.

He knows what he's doing, he needs reporting as if this is what he's doing early on, how much more does it need to escalate before you realise this behaviour is not petty?

Ok, so let him continue to assault you for the next few months. Be prepared for it to escalate now he knows you're not going to do anything about it.

That's irrelevant. If he's physically making contact with you he needs to be spoken to immediately.
What's he going to do when he can't get his own way next time if he's not challenged? Escalate to fighting?
If he's not doing his job that needs raising too.

Whether he leaves or stays he's not doing what he's there to do. That's increasing other people's workloads. And he's getting paid to do fuck all.

OP why are you doing his work?

Jesus Christ, the earth I would scorch if a teenage boy did this to me.

You should report his behaviour to your line manager. Log times, dates. Past and any future ones.
You do not come to work to be treated in this way by a colleague. And your manager has a duty of care to ensure you don’t too.