A record payout of ﾃつ｣120,000 has been made for homophobic and anti-gay taunts.
A sales manager has been awarded a record payout of almost ﾃつ｣120,000 after being harassed and discriminated against because he was gay.
Jonah Ditton, 32, from Paisley, had been called "a wee poof" and only worked for eight days before being sacked because he was not "psychologically balanced".
Yesterday the employment tribunal in Glasgow awarded him a total of ﾃつ｣118,309, understood to be the highest award by a tribunal for bias on the grounds of sexuality.
But how much Mr Ditton receives remains to be seen. According to the Register at Companies House, CP Publishing has a share value of ﾃつ｣2 in two ﾃつ｣1 shares. Since it was formed in January 2004, it has never filed accounts.
As of November, 2005, they are overdue. The last return was in January 2005 and the next is overdue as of February 2006. Its status is described as "Active - proposal to strike off."
Mr Ditton had told the tribunal chairman, June Cape, at a hearing last month that he had previously been in the top 10% of earners in media sales in Scotland, and had expected to earn more than ﾃつ｣80,000 a year.
Instead, he turned to drink and had to rely on benefits because he had been harassed and bullied. But he was now on the mend and had returned to work with an estate agency.
He brought his claim against CP Publishing, of Glasgow - which publishes entertainment listings - under the Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations, which came into effect in December 2004.
Mr Ditton's award included ﾃつ｣10,000 for injury to feelings, ﾃつ｣76,937 for pecuniary loss, ﾃつ｣5291 interest and ﾃつ｣26,081 for the company's failure to follow statutory procedures.
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