Offensive comments by supervisor

June 2024

Brian* is a gay man. He started a new job and although he kept his sexual orientation private, he felt that his supervisor suspected he was gay.

Between work meetings with clients, his supervisor would make offensive comments, such as:

• Certain cafés were ‘full of faggots’
• A particular suburb was ‘full of old poofs’
• The CEO of a client company was ‘a bloody faggot’
• A client’s name ‘sounded homosexual’
• All men in a particular client industry were ‘gay’.

Brian’s employment was terminated during his probation period. Following this, Brian lodged a complaint of homosexual discrimination and vilification with ADNSW.

Brian’s employer denied ever using offensive words and said he did not know Brian’s sexual orientation. The employer said that Brian had been terminated during his probationary period because of unsatisfactory performance and that the complaint was made only after his termination.

Brian disagreed that his performance was unsatisfactory. He maintained that the comments were made. He said that he believed his supervisor suspected that he was gay and was goading him for a response.

At a conciliation conference, the employer agreed to pay Brian compensation (without any admission of liability or wrongdoing) and to issue a statement of service. This resolved Brian’s complaint.

* Name has been changed to protect the privacy of the individual