The manager of a nursing home said he wanted employees' skirts to be shorter, a tribunal heard.

Christine Cross, a part-time supper cook and carer at the Cliff Court rest home, in The Promenade, Peacehaven, told the hearing Michael Modder made sexual remarks to a member of staff.

Ms Cross, of Roderick Avenue, Peacehaven, claims she was unfairly dismissed in September last year after she went off sick.

Two former colleagues are also claiming compensation at the Brighton employment tribunal.

Judith Gordon, of Neville Road, Peacehaven, a former care assistant, is claiming constructive dismissal and sex discrimination.

She says she was forced to resign after being sexually harassed by Mr Modder.

Carole Handley, of Trafalgar Close, Peacehaven, a former senior care assistant, claims she was constructively dismissed. She resigned because of a breakdown in trust and confidence with her employer.

Mr Modder and the owners of the rest home, Jon and Carol Breeds, deny treating the three women unfairly.

Ms Cross said: "Mr Modder would make sexual remarks to a member of staff. One remark was when he stated that skirts worn by staff should be shorter, the shorter the better."

She admitted she had been given two verbal warnings about her conduct by Mr Modder.

Ms Cross said she was sent her P45 while she was still off work ill. She denied she had requested it because she had another job to go to.

Ms Handley told the hearing about 20 staff left after Mr Modder became manager in January last year.

She walked out on a night shift after Mr Modder confronted her with a list of complaints about her work.

She called him "a verbal bully" and said: "I was very upset at him accusing me of not looking after residents. I had been there for 11 years."

Ms Gordon said she was forced to resign in November last year because her shifts had been gradually reduced and she was fed up with the constant sexual innuendoes.

The hearing continues.