The Court of Appeal has held that a gay employee, who had revealed his sexual orientation at his previous office, was not discriminated against at his new office when his manager mentioned his sexual orientation to, and in front of, colleagues.
An employee claiming discrimination must first prove facts from which the tribunal could conclude, in the absence of an adequate explanation, that discrimination took place, as this case demonstrates.
Discrimination can occur even when a comment is in writing and discovered by an employee a long time after the comment was written down, as this case illustrates.
The Employment Appeal Tribunal has held that an employer discriminated against a gay employee when it implemented a re-positioning policy, for a pub, that discriminated against gay customers.
In this case, an employment tribunal found that a gay employee was harassed at a workplace event that he could not opt out of and that lent itself to banter of a sexual nature that could easily offend.
The Employment Appeal Tribunal has held that an employment tribunal that held that an employee had been discriminated against on the ground of sexual orientation had failed properly to take into account, among other facts, that the employee had actively “come out” while working at a different office.