A TV presenter has won a four-figure payout after she was sacked for making an obscene gesture live on air when a colleague made lewd remarks through her earpiece.
A tribunal heard Charlie Vernon, 28, was called a “f***ing big whore” and “big bitch” while hosting the Jewellery Maker Show on shopping channel Gems TV in May last year.
The former CBBC and GMTV presenter was then caught on camera sticking her middle finger up, sparking a complaint from a viewer whose 12-year-old daughter saw the gesture.
Miss Vernon decided to sue TV bosses after being sacked from the Genuine Gemstone Company, where she had worked for two years, for gross misconduct. She lost a claim for unfair dismissal and victimisation but has been awarded £3,250 compensation for sexual harassment at a Birmingham employment tribunal.
Miss Vernon, who now presents on Channel 5’s Live with Gabby, told the hearing she had tried to laugh off the abuse. But as it continued she became “shocked and extremely offended”.
Miss Vernon, from Bath, Somerset, told the tribunal: “There’s always the odd distraction joke among the camera crews during transmission, but it’s usually innocent and friendly.
“This was taken to a different level and I did my best to carry on with the show.”
The tribunal was shown 10-minute footage of the incident, in which Miss Vernon is seen laughing nervously before becoming angry and making the gesture.
After a two-day hearing, judge Victoria Dean said the tribunal agreed she had been sexually harassed.
Anna Meade, who is the Genuine Gemstone Company's head of human resources, said: "Whilst the Tribunal saw fit to award the claimant compensation for harassment, The Genuine Gemstone Company would like to clarify that it does not tolerate harassment in any shape or form.
"This incident occurred between the two individuals and upon investigation both were dismissed for their behaviour. The Genuine Gemstone Company is a family owned business and the wellbeing of our employees is of utmost importance."
