Queer woman driven to tears and forced to quit job after colleague slipped vile homophobic note into locker
The homophobic note was found by the women as she worked at Wilko in Nottingham (Eye Ubiquitous/Universal Images Group/Getty)
A queer woman has quit her job in tears after one of her colleagues left a devastating homophobic note in her locker at work.
Pamela Clinton, 35, worked at a Nottingham branch of the homeware giant Wilko. On September 8 she opened her locker to find the explicit handwritten note, which read: “**** ***** LEAVE. NO ONE LIKES YOU!”
She was so shocked by the aggressive words that she immediately burst into tears, and felt she had no choice but to resign.
“I was absolutely mortified. I’d like to think I’m a confident individual but when it comes to my sexuality I am quite – not nervous – but it’s something I am quite conscious about,” she told Nottingham Live.
“In terms of finding a note I was absolutely disgusted, I went into the bathroom and, to be honest, just sobbed.
“In terms of how it got in there, on the front of the locker there are about 12 holes on the right hand side of each locker door which are the size of a five pence piece. When the note fell out, it fell out as if it was rolled up.”
Clinton believes the homophobic note was pushed through small holes in the locker (Pexels)
Clinton reported the homophobic note to her supervisor, and was later told there would be an in-house investigation. A spokesman for Wilko confirmed this, telling Nottingham Live that the company does not accept discrimination of any kind and had been “looking into the situation very seriously”.
However, Clinton feels the problem was simply swept under the carpet and has been led to believe the situation is “pretty much case closed”.
“I had to give a written statement, which was noted by another member of staff, another supervisor, explaining my version of events – what had happened and how I felt,” she said.
“During the shift all the other colleagues were called to my manager’s office to ask about what they knew about what had happened. Towards the end of the shift my manager had informed me they do not know who it is and that was pretty much case closed.”
A spokeswoman for Wilko said: “We welcome everyone at Wilko and want our customers and team members to feel comfortable being themselves whether they’re working or shopping with us. We think of ourselves as one family with strong values, one of which is respect.
“So, discrimination of any kind isn’t accepted. However, sometimes even families can let each other down and if this happens we really want to put it right.”
The store has reportedly asked Clinton to reconsider her resignation, but she has already found a new job.
