Sexual orientation

Case 3: The facts

In this case the names of the parties are not identified. X, a gay man, worked with young offenders. The police charged him with gross indecency, but not in relation to any work activities. He did not inform his employers of the charge and six months later, when they found out, he was suspended, disciplined and then dismissed. The employers' reasons for the dismissal were that the obligations of mutual trust and confidence had been breached by his failure to inform his employers of the charge, bearing in mind that he worked with vulnerable young people. X claimed that the dismissal breached his right to a private life, as guaranteed under the Human Rights Act 1998

The ruling

The EAT held that X was not protected under the Act. The activities for which he had been charged had occurred in a place to which the public had access and were thus genuinely public.

X v Y EAT/0765/02