Gay academic loses his bias claim over ‘that’s so gay’ remark
A SENIOR university lecturer has lost a discrimination claim over a colleague allegedly saying ‘that’s so gay’ in front of him.
Stephen Lannin, who is gay, claimed Brent Meheux made the remark after seeing an image on a computer screen.
Mr Lannin said that, when challenged, faculty chief Mr Meheux replied: ‘Oh, I didn’t mean it like that.’ The alleged comment emerged when Mr Lannin was made redundant after 17 years teaching graphic design at Solent University in Southampton.
At an employment tribunal in Bristol he also claimed that a student was referred to as a ‘ladyboy’ during a lecture.
Another accusation centred on a person being described as ‘puff-y’ for not drinking enough alcohol. But the discrimination claims were dismissed, with the tribunal ruling Mr Meheux did not say ‘that’s so gay’.
Mr Lannin complained to the design faculty’s dean, Professor Peter Lloyd, about an increase in ‘casual homophobic remarks’ in the workplace in 2015. He claimed Mr Meheux was ‘anti-PC’, ‘hated PC culture’ and heard him make the ‘that’s so gay’ comment as well as claiming he ‘only liked certain types of gay’. Mr Lannin wrote an email recounting the alleged incidents, but did not accuse anyone in particular.
In April 2019 he was told he was being made redundant due to ‘changing operational needs’. He appealed against the decision, claiming his sexuality was ‘relevant’.
During the appeal meeting, Mr Lannin said he had suffered discriminatory treatment and bias as a young man, and this had continued in his teaching career, including at Solent University, which he joined in 2002.
The tribunal heard he also adopted a policy of ‘provocative questioning’ and asked the former vice-chancellor, Professor Graham Baldwin, about his sexuality.
His appeal was ‘unanimously’
‘Discriminatory treatment’
dismissed so he took claims for unfair dismissal, discrimination, harassment and victimisation to a tribunal.
But the panel, headed by employment judge Andrew Matthews, concluded Mr Meheux had not made the comments Mr Lannin claimed that he had. The tribunal also found his other claims had been brought too late and ruled that, in any case, they were without foundation.
It said the ‘ladyboy’ joke – made by Professor Lloyd in a filmed lecture – was not aimed at anyone in particular and was not meant to be offensive.
‘We have rejected Mr Lannin’s claim that his dismissal was discriminatory,’ the panel said. ‘The university has shown a permissible reason for the dismissal, being redundancy.’