Whitfield v Cleanaway UK

Robert Whitfield worked as an Office Manager for Cleanaway UK in Brentwood, Essex, earning £54,000 per annum. He claimed that he was subjected to a campaign of homophobic abuse including calling him Sebastian (after a character in the TV series "The Office") and calling him a Queen, when he sat in an ornate seat when out with colleagues. He claimed breach of contract, unfair dismissal and victimisation on the grounds of his sexual orientation. Cleanaway denied his claim, with their barrister claiming he was nicknamed Sebastian as he was "a bit posh" and that there were many other Sebastian’s such as Sebastian Coe the athlete.

The Tribunal found for Mr Whitfield and awarded him £35,000.

Additional details can be found by clicking on the following links:

Article 1 on personneltoday.co.uk

Article 2 on personneltoday.co.uk