Gay Vodafone Worker Awarded £30,000 In Compensation After Boss Asked ‘How Do Lesbians Have Sex?’

An employment tribunal in Glasgow awarded a gay Vodafone worker over  £30,000 in compensation, after a male manager asked her, “How do lesbians have sex?”

Trigger Warning: This story discusses anti-LGBTQI comments, which might be distressing to some readers. For 24 hour crisis support and suicide prevention call Lifeline on 13 11 14. For Australia-wide LGBTQI peer support call QLife on 1800 184 527 or webchat.

On September 28, 2022, the tribunal ruled that the woman, who can only be identified as Ms C, was subjected to harassment and discrimination due to her sexual orientation. 

The complainant claimed that she had endured “sexually explicit comments” from “start to finish in that employment”, which left her feeling disturbed and humiliated. 

“I have never been humiliated like that, being asked to describe the inner workings of my sexual orientation to a grown man whilst he smiles at me when asking was so disturbing and I’ve never been so over-sexualised in my personal life or working career,” the woman said.

“No other woman was asked that or subjected to the comments around their orientation, only me, because I am gay. I don’t think I will ever feel safe or comfortable enough now to disclose my sexuality to another employer.”

Gay Woman Asked Sexually Explicit Questions By Manager

The woman started working as a sales assistant at a Vodafone franchise store in Glasgow run by Thistle Communications Ltd in October 2021. 

Within a month, the store managers Bilal Shahid and Matthew Graham started making inappropriate comments, with regards to her sexual orientation. 

Bilal, the senior manager, who was also a business partner of the owner Michael McDade, asked the woman, “So, how do lesbians have sex then, I’m intrigued”. 

“I told him I wasn’t going to answer that question and he asked me again after a customer left,” C said. 

Another store manager Matthew remarked “You look like a normal lassie to me” and commented about another gay woman “That’s a waste”. 

During one conversation, Bilal told Matthew, “I mean I think it’s great, you’re a lesbian but I can’t imagine having this conversation with a gay guy”.  The woman said she felt uneasy and humiliated at work and had to go on sick leave. 

Toll On Mental Health Ignored By Employer

While the employers upheld her grievances, the complainant said that she didn’t think they considered the damage to her mental health. 

“I don’t feel safe to return to an environment which humiliated me, alienated me and has made me need to seek counselling, this has cost me months of my life,” C said. 

The tribunal accepted that C was harassed on account of her sexual orientation.  “Having struggled with her sexuality since she was a young child, the claimant felt like she was being told that gay people are “less than” heterosexual people, and she found this hurtful and embarrassing, and she felt like an outsider because she was gay,” the tribunal said. 

The tribunal ruled that the unwanted conduct violated C’s dignity and “created an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for her in the respondents’ workplace. She felt excluded and marginalised within the workplace.”