Have you been discriminated against because of your sexual orientation? Maybe not. But imagine this…
You’re a gay man, and your colleagues taunt you at work.
They call you “camp” and make limp-wristed gestures. They send you an email showing stereotypically gay characters with comments directed at you. They write “I love” under a photo of you, and leave it for you to find. They ask about your favourite type of man…
Then you apply for promotion but you’re rejected because you’ve adopted a child and your boss believes you’ll take too much time off afterwards.
That’s what happened to Peter Allen. He was earning £74,000-a-year as the quality director at Paradigm Precision Limited in East Lancashire.
The engineering firm manufactures jet engine parts, and Peter worked there for five years. The harassment occurred between March and June 2018, so Peter brought an official grievance, but was “left isolated” while the company investigated. In his absence, they appointed a temporary replacement.
Peter felt his position at the company was untenable, so he resigned in November 2018. He made claims to the Manchester employment tribunal for constructive unfair dismissal, harassment, victimisation, detrimental treatment and direct discrimination.
In a ruling in April this year, Judge Mark Leach found the company guilty of harassment related to sexual orientation and constructive unfair dismissal.
Peter was awarded nearly £175,000.
Have you been discriminated against because of your sexual orientation?
Do you think the behaviour described above is acceptable? It may not be, under the Equality Act 2010. No-one should be discriminated against because of a protected characteristic, neither should they be harassed, victimised or bullied at work.
If you’re treated badly at work because of your sexual orientation, you may be able to bring a claim against your employer. What’s more, your employer must deal with any complaint correctly. If they fail to follow the correct procedure, they are breaking the law and you could win compensation.
Note that there are strict timescales to meet, so you have to act quickly. Every situation is different, so give us a call early on, and we’ll support and advise you.
Further reading
For more information on this subject, you might find our other articles useful:
- Discrimination: sexual orientation
- Can I bring a discrimination claim?
- The ‘support gay marriage’ cake. What happened next?
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