Education & Employment

Discrimination law now covers schools, colleges and universities, and the workplace. However, different laws apply in schools on the one hand, and in colleges, universities and the workplace on the other.

Schools

Your school will have an anti-bullying policy; ideally this will make clear that homophobic bullying is unacceptable and will be taken as seriously as other forms of bullying, such as e.g. racist bullying (in line with discrimination law), and dealt with sensitively. It is important that homophobic bullying is challenged, whenever it occurs and regardless of who the bully is (i.e. a fellow pupil or teacher/school staff).

Whether you identify as LGB or not, or you are out at school or not, you have a right to be safe from harm and enjoy an equal chance to learn and be successful. Any complaints about homophobic bullying have to be taken seriously by teachers and other school staff and there is guidance available to help them deal with bullying, including homophobic bullying.
It is also against the law to discriminate against a pupil on grounds of their sexual orientation, regardless of whether the pupil identifies as lesbian, gay, bisexual or heterosexual (Equality Act 2006). It is useful to be aware of that, although taking a bully or your school to court is likely to be complicated, and can be quite daunting and expensive. However, if your school if failing to protect you from harm from other pupils or teachers, the law is on your side and there for you to use as a last resort.

If you want more information on anti-bullying policies or the law, or support in raising any issue around homophobic or transphobic bullying with your school, please get in touch by emailing rights@lgbtyouth.org.uk. Here are some other people who might be able to help:

Equality and Human Rights Commission – Scotland Helpline: 0845 604 5510, 0845 604 5520 (Textphone) – (Mon, Tue, Thu, Fri 9:00 am-5:00 pm; Wed 9:00 am-8:00 pm)
Respectme, Scotland’s Anti-Bullying Service work with schools and others to challenge bullying – www.respectme.org.uk

College, University and the Workplace

Discrimination, harassment and bullying on grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity or expression at college or university, and at work have been against the law since 2003 (sexual orientation) and 1999 (gender identity) respectively.

Colleges and universities will have policies that deal with discrimination and bullying and complaints procedures. These will be different in different colleges or universities and their advice places (Student Welfare Offices, Students’ Unions, etc) should be able to help you complain about unfair or discriminatory treatment and bullying. Click here for a leaflet with more details on your rights in colleges and universities

Your employer should have policies in place to protect your rights. This may be an equal opportunities policy and/or dignity at work policy or an anti-bullying policy. There will also be a procedure to file a complaint or a grievance against colleagues or managers who you feel are bullying you or displaying discriminatory behaviour. If you have no luck complaining to your management, or you feel very strongly that this would make your working life unbearable, you may be able to skip such a complaint and file a case directly with an employment tribunal. In any case, it is very important that you seek advice before complaining to management or taking a case to an employment tribunal. If you are a member of a trade union, they will usually be able to help you; if not, we will do our best to help and below are the details of others who can offer their advice and expertise.

Useful contacts:

Equality and Human Rights Commission – Scotland Helpline: 0845 604 5510, 0845 604 5520 (Textphone) – (Mon, Tue, Thu, Fri 9:00 am-5:00 pm; Wed 9:00 am-8:00 pm)
NUS Scotland, the National Union of Students Scotland - 0131 556 6598 or mail@nus-scotland.org.uk
ACAS – Information on complaints and grievance procedures etc – www.acas.gov.uk