Landmark case   Regarding homophobic taunts under Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Act

Take care when monitoring sexual orientation warns TUC   The pitfalls of collecting information.

The lies people tell   What happened when the truth was uncovered !

Did You Know..........?   Improve your eating habits. Sleep interuption. Worried to death by PowerPoint.

Landmark case

Mr Whitfield, a gay senior manager in a waste management company, Cleanaway UK, has successful brought a case for constructive unfair dismissal, harassment and discrimination. This is the first successful case brought under the Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Act. He was awarded £35,345 in compensation. This case is expected to set a benchmark for employers who fail to stamp out anti-gay or lesbian harassment.

The East London employment tribunal heard how he was forced to leave his job after persistent taunting by senior colleagues and other members of staff.

In a statement to the tribunal, Mr Whitfield said: "I had never made any references to my sexuality at work at any time because I considered this to be a private matter.
"I also did not want to be judged primarily as a gay man and secondly as a conscientious, highly skilled and hardworking manager.

"I was extremely shocked, surprised and disappointed when people made wholly inappropriate comments to me about my sexual orientation, especially when these comments came from senior staff and, frankly, from people who should have known better than to make offensive, insulting and upsetting comments."

The tribunal found that Cleanaway, had been woefully lax about coming to his aid, despite previous complaints by another gay member of staff. A three-strong panel was told that Mr Whitfield, who never made an issue of his sexuality on the grounds that it was personal and not work-related, was mercilessly got-at by members of the senior management team. 

Take care when monitoring sexual orientation warns TUC

The TUC has warned that any monitoring of the sexual orientation of employees must be confidential and sensitive, or it could end up causing more problems than it solves. While employers are legally obliged to monitor their employees’ race and gender, there is no requirement to monitor sexual orientation.

However, if handled sensibly, monitoring of sexual orientation could help encourage a more understanding and discrimination-free working environment. New guidelines from the TUC, “Monitoring LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender] Workers”, advise that employers should only monitor sexual orientation where:

• they have a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality policy already in place, and they are clear about why they want to monitor and what they intend to do with the results
• there is an absolute guarantee of confidentiality of the information collected and that the data remains anonymous the monitoring form makes it clear that answering the questions on sexual orientation or gender identity is optional.

If you would like assistance with policy writing or more information on this subject or any employment related issue please call us 01473 890037 or email info@picassohr.com

The lies people tell

Finding top staff is like chemistry: It’s hard to find the right people to work for you and I am sure there isn’t an office in the country that hasn’t had or is having problems recruiting the right talent.

This is the story of a German chemistry student who turned up for an interview with a Doctor of chemistry. During the interview the Doctor became slightly suspicious of the Student and asked to see the documentary evidence of his qualifications and experience. The interviewee did the first thing that came into his head and ate his C.V. and fled from the office. This helped to reinforce the suspicion of forgery. Unfortunately the student in his haste did not manage to scoff the part with his address on and he was subsequently charged with forgery.

At Picasso HR we have the skills and experience to help with the whole recruitment process to ensure you select the right person for the job, and avoid the potential for costly race or sex discrimination claims. Age discrimination claims are just around the corner as well !

Did You Know..........?

Working from home could improve our eating habits according to Research conducted by voice and data products provider Sterry Communications.  One of the key discoveries exposed that over 96% of workers eat lunch at their desks at least once a week whilst 42% said they were desk bound every day.  Almost two thirds of those questioned said they would be more inclined to take a proper lunch break if they worked from home.

According to a poll conducted with over 1000 business owners by Barclays, the heads of one in 10 small to medium size business have their sleep interrupted with matters concerned with their businesses.    The poll revealed the top sleep interrupters were cash flow (34%) and employee related matters (31%).

We fear making presentations more than we do death according to a recent survey.  Although nearly half the UK workforce currently present to large audiences as required in their jobs, almost as many (42%) fear the prospect of speaking in public more than losing their jobs (16%) or flying (8%) or dying (28%).

The information in this newsletter is of a general nature and is not a substitute for professional advice. You are recommended to obtain specific professional advice before you take any action.

For further information, advice or assistance on any of the matters raised in this newsletter please contact Picasso HR on 01473 890037.

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