Sacked woman gets compensation after gay man gropes her breasts

Sacked UK woman wins 12,300 pounds after gay man gropes her breasts

Place: London

April 20 : A livery yard manageress in Britain, who was sacked after she complained that a homosexual stable-boy groped her breasts after telling her gay men love boobs and bums, has been awarded 12,300 pounds damages.
Louise Smith, 25, was regularly fondled by the stable groom, who also simulated sex with her, and even flashed his genitals at St Ives Equestrian Centre in Bingley, West Yorks.
And when Smith complained to bosses about his lewd behaviour, they refused to believe her because of the man''s sexuality.
Instead, she was hauled before a disciplinary hearing and accused of lying, before being sacked due to a CRB check matter, which was "fabricated" by her bosses.
Smith, who had been promoted to manageress of the Equestrian Centre within a year of working there, was awarded the damages for sexual harassment.
Smith, who was responsible for nine staff and 40 horses, said the groom, who cannot be named for legal reasons, started harassing her within a month of starting the job.
"Shortly after he was employed I remember walking up the yard towards the office and he was walking towards me," the Daily Mail quoted her as telling the tribunal.
"As we passed he grabbed my breasts and made a comment about how gay men love boobs and bums, and then he walked off. I was totally shocked.
"A few days later I was in the bottom barn and when he came up behind me as I was bending over, grabbed my hips and simulated sexual intercourse.
"I stood up and pushed him away and nervously tried to laugh it off. I did not know how to handle it.
"I do not believe he had evil intentions, I think he thought it was a joke but it was inappropriate and I did not think it was funny," she stated.
Louise complained to her line manager Deborah Homewood in September 2009 and took a few days off hoping that the sexual harassment issue would be addressed, but the behaviour continued.
"On one occasion he was sitting out in the front yard having a cigarette," she said.
"I walked past with a horse on my way to the horse walker, which is basically a treadmill for horses used during the winter months to keep horses exercised.
"He pulled his trousers and underwear down and shouted to me that he had used some spray tan and you could see where his thong had been - ie the line distinguishing where he was white and where he was tanned.
"On a few occasions he tried to touch me between my legs. When he took me by surprise he managed to touch me, but if I knew he was around I would be more wary and managed to stop him," she revealed.
The tribunal also heard that some livery customer had witnessed the groom "brutally kicking" horses on the yard and they had removed their animals from St Ives Estate.
Smith said she had passed on these allegations of ill treatment to the British Horse Society, a governing body concerned with equine welfare.
"The fact that the groom is a homosexual should not make the allegations of sexual harassment less likely to be true," tribunal chairman Jonathan Whittaker, said while delivering the verdict.