Straight bouncer wins £6,000 in landmark sexual orientation case

A bouncer has been awarded more than £6,000 damages after she was harassed by colleagues for being heterosexual.

Sharon Legg, a bouncer at Dreams gay club in Bournemouth, was repeatedly called “breeder” by her boss and frequently the subject of abuse for not being a lesbian or bisexual.

Legg joined the club in May 2005 and was promoted to head of security a year later. Fellow door staff, all of whom were gay, refused to follow orders and made things difficult for her. She was sacked without warning in June 2006.

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Legg’s barrister Sarah Courtenay used the Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulation Act 2003 to win the case, the legislation designed to protect gay staff.

Legg, a mother of four, was awarded £3,000 for injured feelings for being harassed for being straight, and £3,222 for unfair dismissal, although the employment tribunal in Southampton found she he not been sacked for being straight.