TV presenter sacked over hand gesture wins payout for sexual harassment

Charlie Vernon was sacked for making a rude gesture live on Gems TV after colleagues insulted her through her earpiece
TV presenter wins compensation for sexual harassment
Presenter Charlie Vernon on Gems TV shopping channel. Photograph: Gems TV

A TV presenter has been awarded compensation for sexual harassment having been sacked for making a rude hand gesture to studio colleagues live on air after they called her a "whore" through her earpiece.

Charlie Vernon, 28, lost her job on the Jewellery Maker show on the Gems TV satellite channel when a viewer complained after she gestured with her middle finger.

She has been awarded £3,250 after successfully suing her former employer for sexual harassment at Birmingham employment tribunal. She lost her claim for unfair dismissal and victimisation against the Redditch-based TV firm, Genuine Gemstone Company, which had sacked her for bringing it into disrepute.

The presenter told the tribunal the finger incident was sparked by verbal abuse from studio colleagues working on the programme, which is broadcast on a Sky satellite channel.

"I was shocked and extremely offended to be called a fucking big whore and a bitch on my earpiece," said Vernon, who has worked for CBBC, GMTV and Channel 5.

"There's always the odd distraction joke among the camera crews during transmission, but it's usually innocent and friendly. I've never been insulted before by such crude language."

Vernon had worked for the firm for two years. She told the tribunal she had not realised her response had been seen by viewers, who were unaware of the earpiece abuse.

But one viewer said she and her 12-year-old daughter had been watching the programme and regarded the gesture as disgusting.

Tribunal judge Victoria Dean was shown a 10-minute extract of the programme, dealing with antique bronze and copper items, which showed Vernon laughing nervously as she handled the jewellery, then becoming angry.

Paul Roberts, representing the company, said Vernon's gesture could have brought it into disrepute.

He said the firm denied her allegations and said she worked freelance and was not an employee. He also claimed the presenter had been threatened with losing her job two weeks earlier.

Vernon said she had been an employee of the company and had been sent to India to handle gems as part of her training.

After a two-day hearing Dean said the tribunal agreed Vernon had been an employee and that she had been sexually harassed, and awarded her £3,250. But her claim for unfair dismissal was rejected when the tribunal ruled that the TV firm had acted "within the range of reasonable responses" by dismissing her for misconduct.

The legal claim for victimisation was also rejected by Dean, who described it as a one-off incident

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