: I Ashraf J Burnett Mr K Mcconachie v Whitbread Group plc — 2022

The claimant, who identifies as a gay man, was subjected to homophobic abuse by hotel guests during his work as Duty Manager on 8 October 2021. The Tribunal considered the respondent's support during and after the incident, the return to work and welfare meetings, discussions about transfer, and the move to a Team Member role.

The Tribunal found that there were failings in how the respondent dealt with the situation, including no follow-up conversation about the incident, no contact from Safety and Security, no proper exploration of the claimant's anxiety or support needs, and no return to work meeting in November 2021. It accepted that the respondent had not treated the incident as serious and that there appeared to be a lack of regard for mental health issues on the evidence before it.

However, the Tribunal found no direct evidence that the treatment was because of the claimant's sexual orientation, and concluded that sexual orientation was not a significant influence on the respondent's treatment of him. The victimisation claim also failed because the Tribunal found that completing the incident report form was not a protected act under section 27 Equality Act 2010, so the claimant could not have been subjected to a detriment because of such an act.