Discrimination Case Opens Door To Payouts Over £10,000

The case of a gay employee who won an award from the Discrimination Tribunal after other employees made offensive comments about a Pride march outside their place of work demonstrates that employers have to take training and processes seriously, and that the £10,000 compensation payout applies per individual complaint, not per overall claim, says Ogier employment lawyer Daniel Read.

The employee won claims not just for discrimination and harassment but also for unfair dismissal, because he was made redundant after submitting his complaint. Because his employer had no formal process governing redundancy, they were unable to defend the claim.

Liability for the award that he has received has been split between two colleagues who discriminated against him – because they made the offensive comments, and then laughed about it when challenged - and his former employer.