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(London) In the first test of a new law
protecting gays from discrimination in the workplace a London labor tribunal has
awarded a man nearly $70,000 after he was belittled and harassed on the job.
Rob Whitfield, 28, was verbally harassed by
executives at
Cleanaway UK, an international waste management company based in Essex.
Whitfield, who was not out at time he was
employed by Cleanaway, was repeatedly referred to as "Sebastian" the
outrageously gay character on a TV show, and was presented with a T-shirt with pink lettering before a conference of 60 colleagues
were he was called a queen and a queer.
Whitfield brought a complaint against the company
to the employment tribunal based on the law which went into effect last year. It
was the first major test of the effectiveness of the legislation aimed at
protecting gays and lesbians in the workplace and in housing. (story)
As a result of the ruling it is expected that a number of similar claims will be
filed.
The tribunal heard that Whitfield earned close to
$90,000 a year but that the environment at the company was far from welcoming
and he was eventually fired.
In delivering the decision of the
tribunal, Vivienne Gay, the chair said that the panel
was satisfied that Whitfield had suffered sustained abuse.
"Mr Whitfield was upset at being named Sebastian beyond
the natural upset of being persistently referred to by a name that's not your
own because it referred to his sexual orientation," she said.
Paul Jackson, the company's sales and marketing director, had also called
Whitfield "dear" after he ordered a kir royale at a business
conference.
"In using the word 'dear' in connection with Mr
Whitfield's choice of drink, Mr Jackson was pointing out the perceived
effeminacy of kir royale," said Gay. "We did not find that Mr
Whitfield brought the use of the word on himself by camp behavior."
©365Gay.com 2005
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