Compensation for gay discrimination

An employment tribunal has awarded a gay man £47,345 in compensation after he successfully claimed discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation. He had claimed that his appointment to the role of youth worker was blocked by the Bishop of Hereford because of his sexuality. He had been interviewed by a panel of eight people for the post in 2006. However, a unanimous decision to appoint him was blocked by the bishop after a meeting in which he was questioned about his private life. The compensation covered a range of issues, including psychiatric injury, costs of counselling, costs incurred in seeking work and future loss of wages.