HOMOSEXUAL jobseekers are less likely to be invited for an interview than their heterosexual counterparts, the first study of its kind revealed yesterday.

Researchers from Anglia Ruskin University claim the results, which found gay applicants are 5 per cent less likely to be offered a job interview, suggest discrimination is common in both private firms and public-sector organisations.

The study involved 144 first-time job seekers from 12 student unions across Britain who made a total of 11,098 applications.

Applications were sent out in pairs with the only marked difference being that one stated that they were a member of their university’s LGBT society.

The study also found that firms which offered gay male candidates an interview paid an average salary of 2 per cent less than those who invited heterosexuals.

For lesbian women the average salary was 1.4 per cent less.