Creche ordered to pay €5,000 to worker 'outed' as gay by fellow employee

The Workplace  Relations Commission was told that the complainant was 'outed unwillingly' as gay by a colleague's inappropriate questioning.
Picture: Colin Keegan

A creche has been ordered by the Workplace Relations Commission to pay €5,000 to a former employee who was discriminated against on the basis of her sexual orientation. 

Heard by adjudication officer Thomas O'Driscoll, the commission was told that the complainant was "outed unwillingly" as gay by a colleague's inappropriate questioning concerning her sexual orientation, with the former employee also submitting that the creche did not take the proper steps to deal with the harassment.

Represented by barrister Lorna Madden, the former employee further claimed that she was victimised for making the complaint to management, having been subsequently moved to a different room, with her hours reduced.

Detailing the incident, the complainant — who has been anonymised along with the creche on account of the case concerning sexual orientation — recalled her work colleague, Ms A, asking her if she had a boyfriend. The complainant responded that she had "no interest in boyfriends," later revealing that she had "no interest in men" when pressed by Ms A. 

The complainant told the commission she was pressurised by the ordeal, later going to the bathroom to cry. Prior to that conversation, the complainant had told nobody at work about her sexual orientation, saying she found it very difficult to even tell her parents about it.

Raising the incident the next day, the former employee also alleged that the creche manager, referred to as Ms C, told her that if she did not want other members of staff to know about her sexual orientation, then she should have lied. The creche manager denied saying this.

Following her interaction with the manager, the complainant was certified as ill due to stress for the next four days, telling the commission she felt "uncomfortable" in Ms A's presence upon coming back to work.

Creche response

Denying each of the allegations, the creche, represented by Valerie Morrison of Peninsula, claimed it was the complainant who did not want to progress the matter further. 

Additionally, the creche responded to claims of victimisation arguing that any changes in working arrangements of the complainant were purely dependent on the needs of the business during the "challenging period of the covid-19 pandemic," and not related to any alleged harassment complaint issued by the complainant.

The creche also submitted that the complainant was employed as a relief worker, with her hours never being reduced below her contracted amount of 27.5.

Responding to the allegations, Ms A, who described herself as a native of another European country, did not accept she was pressurising her, nor did she believe her questions constituted harassment. 

While satisfied that it was not Ms A's intention to humiliate or hurt the complainant, the adjudication officer found that she had not been informed fully of what constituted harassment by the creche, adding that the non-intervention of witnesses to the initial conversation exacerbated the complainant's distress. 

While finding no basis for the complainant's claims of victimisation, the commission ordered the creche to pay the former employee €5,000 for the effects of the discrimination that she suffered.