Council’s ‘appalling’ treatment of autistic worker in landmark case
By Benedict Moore Bridger
Ealing Times
16th February 2006
A MAN suffering from autism has won a landmark judgement against Ealing
Council under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.
The case was brought against the London Borough of Ealing by disability
union UNISON in March 2004 on behalf of Mark Isles, a regeneration officer
working for the council.
He had applied for an internal position but had been turned down because he
suffered from Asperger's Syndrome (AS), a mild form of autism.
At a settlement ruling on January 9 this year, Watford Employment Tribunal
awarded Mr Isles £9,058.37 for "injury to feelings and financial loss",
saying officers had failed to properly assess the impact of his disability.
In March 2004, Mr Isles had applied for a business design project officer
post.
But he was not shortlisted despite having done an almost identical job
satisfactorily only a few months earlier, when he had been asked to stay on
in the job.
UNISON challenged this decision but both the original complaint and
subsequent grievance were rejected.
The council had accepted that Mr Isles had AS, but had tried to show that it
was too mild to be covered by the Disability Discrimination Act, even though
they had earlier used AS as a justification for rejecting his application.
However, the tribunal accepted that, cumulatively, the effects of Mr Isles'
AS were substantial and he was therefore covered by the act.
Steve Barton, an Ealing UNISON branch officer, said: "I am dismayed at the
number of cases of poor treatment we have uncovered in recent months. The
council claims to be an equal opportunities employer but it is clearly
failing to meet its legal obligations. It is small wonder then that the
numbers of people with disabilities in the council's employment is so low.
Rather than being a beacon of good practice, the council appears to have an
appalling record."
The tribunal stated there was no discussion between officers and Mr Isles
regarding the effects his disability had upon him in terms of his day-to-day
activities and work environment. It concluded that the rejection of Mr
Isles' grievance was based on the council's perception of his disability and
its potential impact. The tribunal also said there should have been an
assessment of Mr Isles in light of his disability, and not what the council
perceived to be the effects it had upon him.
Mr Isles welcomed the judgement saying: "I am delighted with the outcome and
feel vindicated in bringing this action. I should never have been turned
down for this job and hope that the council will choose to sit down and
discuss with my UNISON representatives and me how we can learn from this
whole experience."
He added: "I hope to be reassured that the council welcomes disabled people
in its employment and will in future provide appropriate support and career
development opportunities."
The council's executive director Shelley Adams said: "The council has taken
on board the more limited criticism made by the tribunal that it should have
spoken to Mr Isles about his disability before dealing with his grievance,
and the council will take steps to ensure that such matters are
appropriately handled in the future.
"As with any serious grievances there are always lessons to be learned and
we are actively looking at these."
She added: Ealing Council is an equal opportunities employer and is fully
committed to working with, and employing disabled people."
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