An Employment Tribunal (ET) has awarded an engineer just under £175,000 in damages after ruling that he was treated unfairly by his employer after he revealed to them that he was gay.
Mr P Allen v Paradigm Precision Burnley Ltd and Carl Wheeler: 2416884/2018
Background
Mr Allen joined Paradigm Precision, an aerospace component manufacturer, as a Quality Manager in 2012.
In 2018, Mr Allen made enquiries into adoption leave as he and his husband were thinking about adopting a child. At the time, Mr Allen believed that his employer was about to promote him to General Manager but following his enquiries and the implication that he could be off work for a year, he was not promoted.
Furthermore, after Mr Allen’s work colleagues became aware of his homosexuality, he was subjected to homophobic comments, which included being called ‘camp’, being subjected to limp wristed hand gestures and being sent an email portraying two stereotypical gay characters with comments aimed at him.
ET proceedings
Mr Allen brought legal action against Paradigm Precision claiming discrimination on the basis of his sexual orientation, specifically direct discrimination, harassment and victimisation, that he was subjected to detrimental treatment because he sought to take additional adoption leave, and constructive unfair dismissal.
In his judgement, Employment Judge Mark Leach commented that Mr Allen:
“was subjected to a detriment because he sought to take additional adoption leave and/or because the first respondent believed that the claimant was likely to take additional adoption leave in that he was rejected as operations director and then as a candidate for general manager”.
The ET found that Mr Allen was harassed and directly discriminated against because of his sexual orientation. It also ruled that Mr Allen was victimised and subjected to harmful treatment for wishing to take additional adoption leave, which caused his constructive unfair dismissal. The ET awarded Mr Allen £174,645 in damages.
Comment
This case serves as a stark warning to employers that mishandle employee relation issues and do not take steps to ensure that their culture is inclusive and free from discrimination. It is not enough for employers to simply have policies on equality and equal opportunities; they should ensure that these become part of their culture and values. This can be achieved through education and training.
For managers, it is important that matters, such as promotions and pay increases, are considered separately from issues relating to protected characteristics or any potential absence from the business as a result.
How Nelsons can help
Laura Kearsley is a Partner in our expert Employment Law team.
For further information in relation to the Equality policies, Equality training and managing grievances and complaints from employees, please contact Laura or another member of the team in Derby, Leicester or Nottingham on 0800 024 1976 or via our online form.