[CindyLavender]

Lesbian couple win £22,000 compensation over work taunts

A lesbian couple "humiliated" by sexual jokes from male workmates have won more than £22,000 in compensation.

Saleswomen Beth Moules and Sharleen Amos, both 25, were taunted about their relationship and subjected to crude insults.

Colleague Peter Thoburn also branded the pair's sexuality "disgusting", saying that "he didn't know how they could do it". The women were "incensed" by his outbursts but bosses at Bristol water purifier firm Aquatec Rainsoft ignored their complaints of sexual harassment.

Boss Stephen Baker-Joy, 57, even told them to stop complaining because "lesbians never had and never would suffer in the way that Jews had". He warned them that Mr Thoburn would not be sacked, adding: "Don't expect anything to be done about it."

Within days of her complaint, Miss Amos was fired over the phone. Her partner then resigned and claimed constructive dismissal. A panel at Bristol Employment Tribunal on Monday awarded Miss Moules £7,142.30 for unfair dismissal.

Miss Amos was awarded £5,000 for unfair dismissal in line with an out-of-court settlement she reached with the firm. Aquatec was also ordered to pay each woman £5,000 for hurt feelings for discriminating against them on the ground of their sexual orientation.

In its judgment on liability, the tribunal ruled: "Mr Thoburn described the claimants' conduct as 'disgusting', an epithet which, we concluded, he would not have applied to persons who were not homosexual and in that sense it was less favourable treatment.

"It was also an act of harassment in that a comment of that sort was unwanted. "It was a comment, not about lesbianism in general, but about the behaviour of the two specific claimants and was therefore personally directed against them.

"It was therefore not surprising that the claimants should find such a remark a violation of their dignity and a remark which created a hostile, humiliating or offensive environment for them. "Unfortunately, Aquatec's conduct thereafter aggravated the position.

"We concluded that both claimants legitimately felt that Aquatec did not take their concerns particularly seriously and certainly took no steps to reassure them in any detailed way that this particular problem had been addressed and that it would not reoccur in the future.

"On the contrary, Mr Baker-Joy's comments, belittling the hurt which they had felt, seemed to us to be a feature which might reasonably add significantly to the claimants' feelings of hurt and vulnerability which the remarks had instilled."

The women had been living together in Swindon, Wiltshire, but have since split. They had joined Aquatec Rainsoft, which makes water purification systems, in October 2006 and were "exceptional" sellers – with Miss Moules making over £44,000 in 18 months.