Transsexual trucker 'lost job for dressing as a woman'

Jan 23 2008 Liverpool Daily Post

A TRANSSEXUAL was forced out of her job as a truck driver when she started dressing as a woman, an employment tribunal heard.

Vikki-Marie Gaynor, 38, who was born a man, claims bosses forced her out of the job when she started wearing make-up and women’s clothes and jewellery to work.

Ms Gaynor landed the £20,000-a-year job with Exel Europe, a subsid-iary of the DHL delivery firm, through the Blue Arrow recruitment agency in October, 2006.

Although she had been dressing as a woman in secret for almost 20 years, Vikki, formerly known as Mike Gaynor, decided to start living as a woman full-time in February, 2007.

Ms Gaynor dresses as a woman and has been undergoing counselling for full gender reassignment. She has changed her name to Vikki-Marie Gaynor and hopes to undergo a full sex change operation on the NHS.

The ex-soldier, who has a teenage daughter, told the tribunal in Liver-pool her bosses were initially suppor-tive of her decision to adopt the gen-der of woman. But, within weeks of starting to dress as a woman, Ms Gaynor claims she started suffering problems at the depot where she was based in Kirkby.

The 38-year-old said her regular shift started being cancelled and she noticed a change in the way she was treated by other members of staff.

Ms Gaynor, of Wallasey, Wirral, also claims she was ridiculed and taunted by male colleagues.

Ms Gaynor told the tribunal: “I knew I was different from the age of four. I decided to enter gender transi-tion and to take the formal steps to make the change happen.

“I was very apprehensive about what people would think and my fears were realised when a fellow driver started muttering ‘queer’ and covered his backside with his hands.

“I found it very hurtful. But I was willing to put that down as a one-off.”

Just weeks after her decision to change gender, Ms Gaynor claims she was taken off shifts with no prior warning and was consistently abused by fellow drivers.

On one occasion, she claimed her personal belongings had been put in a bin bag and dumped in a toilet in an act of derision by male workmates.

Ms Gaynor held a meeting with bosses on February 17, 2007, to clarify why she had been taken off her regular shift. But she claims manag-ers told her they had the right to take anyone they wanted off a run if they felt it was beneficial for the company.

Ms Gaynor claimed the last straw was when her bosses failed to act after a fellow trucker abused her at traffic lights.

Witnesses for Blue Arrow rejected her claim that male employees were allocated work in preference to her.

Jonathan England, who worked as transport industry consultant for Blue Arrow told the hearing that work was scarce at the depot in Kirkby.

Mr England said: “Ms Gaynor was in the same boat as a number of their drivers.

“I was aware that she was looking for work around the time in question.

“In past years, February may have been a busy period for the drivers, but at the particular time work was very slow.”

Ms Gaynor is claiming compensation for sexual discrimination by Blue Arrow and Excel Europe along with a claim for failure to provide terms and conditions of employment and a claim under the Wages Act.

The hearing continues.