Harassment of lesbian, gay and bisexual workers

Many surveys have found that lesbian, gay and bisexual people commonly experience harassment at work.

The NUJ uncovered “worrying levels of homophobia across all sectors of the media industry” when it surveyed its LGBT members in 2004. More than half the respondents (52%) said they had suffered discrimination in their current or a previous workplace. Over a third (35%) believed they had been refused promotion, one in nine (11%) said they had been refused work, and slightly more (13%) said they had been verbally abused because of their sexuality.

A survey of UNISON’s lesbian and gay members in 2003 found that 52% had experienced harassment or other discrimination because of their sexual orientation. The survey, carried out by employment advice organisation Lesbian and Gay Employment Rights (LAGER), found that the most common forms of harassment included threatened and/or actual assault and abuse, both physical and verbal. Also cited were threats to “out” people and to disclose confidential information.

A new international study based on data from over 100,000 participants published in 2012 — part of the Netherlands based Out Now Global LGBT2020 study — suggests that homophobic harassment and discrimination is still commonplace in many aspects of LGBT peoples’ working lives. One in seven UK workers (14.5%) told researchers they had personally experienced harassment from colleagues at work during the previous 12 months because of their perceived sexuality. Just over a quarter of UK workers (27%) believed coming out would harm their promotion prospects. Just over half (53%) were already out to work colleagues.

In 2012, the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights launched its first ever EU-wide survey aimed at capturing the day-to-day work experiences of LGBT people, including questions about violence and harassment. The results will inform future EU policy.

There were 640 claims accepted by the employment tribunal under the Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations in 2010-11. Again, tribunal claims represent a fraction of complaints. The median award was £5,550.