Stonewall publishes guide to preventing harassment of gay employees

Gay rights group Stonewall has produced a guide for employers aimed at stopping the bullying and harassment of lesbian and gay employees.
Bullying: preventing the bullying and harassment of gay employees offers practical advice on how to tackle anti-gay behaviour.

The guide outlines the difficulties gay employees can face when reporting bullying and features practical examples of best practice currently being developed by a range of Stonewall's partner organisations, including telecoms giant BT, global services supplier Accenture, Manchester City Council, the Royal Navy and the Barnado's charity.

Guide author Katherine Cowan said: "Bullying and harassment impacts badly, not just on an individual, but on their colleagues and the wider organisation too. It's estimated that more than two million people in the UK are experiencing bullying at work, which costs the UK economy £1.3bn a year. Our new guide is specifically designed to help employers find practical help for their workplace."

Earlier this week Chris Martin, a gay worker at poultry distributor Parkam Foods, won £17,000 in compensation after a Yorkshire tribunal ruled that the company had failed to tackle homophobic harassment in the workplace.