Gay Polish man wins discrimination case against supermarket

The Danish-owned Netto chain must pay former till-attendant Ireneusz Muzalski 18,000 zloty (4400 euros), as well as court costs.

Forty-four year old Muzalski had been employed at a branch of Netto in Slubice, which lies on Poland's border with Germany.

However, according to the plaintiff, his manager subjected him to an ongoing stream of verbal abuse.

“He called be a male bitch and a whore in front of fellow employees and customers,” Muzalski revealed to the Gazeta Wyborcza daily.

“He asked how it was possible that the firm employed such a faggot... and in the end he fired me,” he said.

The manager in question denied that Muzalski had been sacked as a result of his sexual orientation.

Monika Wieczorek, a lawyer who represents the Polish Society of Anti-Discrimination Law (PTPA), says that the ruling is significant.

“The sum of compensation is one of the highest that Polish courts have granted to victims of discrimination based on sexual orientation,” she noted.

“And he is one few such winners,” she added

“Victims rarely seek justice in the courts.” (nh)