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.
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.
