Yahoo News Teen ambulance worker abused by homophobic boss wins £20,000 payout
A teenage ambulance worker has won £20,000 after his female boss subjected him to a torrent of homophobic abuse, including calling him a 'f***ing f****t'.
Liam Gallimore, now 20, from Stoke-on-Trent, told an employment tribunal that managing director Sue Hill-Venning complained she had too many gay staff and said: "I can't stand them".
Other staff at the private ambulance firm run by Hill-Venning joined in with the abuse, the tribunal heard, and the treatment the teenager endured led him to regret having been open about his sexuality at work.
The panel heard that Hill-Venning also berated her employees - all between 18 and 25 - for their age.
Her "bullying" behaviour eventually left Gallimore with no alternative but to resign.
He has now won sex and age discrimination claims against her after a judge found he was the victim of "sustained homophobic abuse", which caused him "significant distress".
Gallimore, who is now an emergency care assistant based in Hereford, joined MediPatrol after being hired by Hill-Venning, who is in her 50s, in January 2020.
He was "immediately" subjected to homophobic abuse and bullying, the hearing held remotely in Bristol was told.
Gallimore said: "I initially ignored the remarks however I was very sensitive to the matters due to being a young and new staff member," he told the tribunal. "But eventually Sue destroyed my comfort [with] the constant insults, statements and comments directed at me.
"Sue's bullying and homophobic abuse increased and at this point there were three members of staff all recruited by Sue who also joined in on the homophobic abuse and bullying, telling me I was an 'underqualified f**got' who was useless at my age without a driving license and life experience."
The hearing was told he would confide in another paramedic daily as the abuse took its toll on his mental health. The panel heard that Gallimore had been at stage in his life when he was coming to terms with his own sexuality, and the homophobic abuse had a "significant" impact on his wellbeing.
The judge found that the insults happened so often that Gallimore was unable to lay them all out for the tribunal.
Hill-Venning denied carrying out homophobic abuse but the tribunal found Gallimore had been a victim of discrimination.
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Employment Judge David Hughes said: "The homophobic abuse to which he was subject was too frequent for individual instances to be identified readily. He was subjected to regular homophobic insults by Ms Hill-Venning. These happened often in front of other people, and some other employees joined in.
"The impact on Mr Gallimore was significant.
"He was a young man. He told me that he felt able to be out at the workplace, but had come to regret it because of the abuse he received.
"The abuse in this case was sustained. References to 'f**gots' and 'f***ing f**gots' are likely to have caused Mr Gallimore significant distress, and I have accepted that the abuse had a serious impact on him."
The tribunal found that although the homophobic abuse was far more prevalent than insults he received about his youth, he had also been the victim of age discrimination.
