Landmark win in claim for sexual orientation discrimination

A gay man has won £6,000 in compensation from his former employer in the first claim of discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation to be settled in Northern Ireland.

Paul Hindley said he was forced to resign from his sales job at Fannin Healthcare in Belfast as a result of severe verbal harassment concerning his sexual orientation. He complained to his employers, but claimed that they failed to deal effectively with the problem.

The company has now agreed to work with the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland, which assisted Hindley in his claim, to improve its equality policies and procedures.

"People like Mr Hindley who are prepared to take a stand against discriminatory behaviour can help bring about change, not only for their own situation but for other people in similar circumstances," said the Commission's chief commissioner, Dame Joan Harbison.

Meanwhile, Scotland's first sexual orientation discrimination claimant has lost his bid for compensation.

Restaurant supervisor Matthew Hearne claimed he lost his job at a Tesco restaurant in West Lothian after managers asked his colleagues if he was homosexual. But his employer, catering contractor Eurest, said Hearne was made redundant because poor sales necessitated job cuts and he had the shortest length of service.

The employment tribunal dismissed the claim, accepted the company's statement that the manager who made the redundancy decision had been unaware of Hearne's sexuality.