UK disability discrimination law and stammering / stuttering
Other relevant links:
A worker with a stammer was dismissed and claimed disability discrimination. The tribunal held he did not have a disability within the Equality Act. Colleagues said his stammer sounded only slight. The tribunal acknowledged that a stammer may also have hidden effects. However in this case the tribunal did not have sufficient evidence that the … Read more
The tribunal found the claimant was disabled within the Equality Act, by reason of her stammer and depression. However it held there was no discrimination, so her claim failed overall. 2021, Employment Tribunal. Full decision (pdf, gov.uk). (There are also earlier decisions (gov.uk) on applications to strike out the claim.) Facts The claimant was employed … Read more
The claimant’s employment was terminated without notice due to his alleged “verbal and threatening behaviour towards management” at a meeting. Part of the problem was him speaking loudly and quickly at the meeting – he had a stammer which caused him to do this when trying to communicate under stress. The employment tribunal rejected his … Read more
A claimant who stammers argued that the employer should have made further adjustments to an interview and presentation, for example expressly telling him he had extra time, follow-up questions where his answers were unduly short, and arrangements to enable him to keep eye contact. The tribunal held that on the facts the adjustments which had … Read more
Below are an impact statement and other documents used in an employment tribunal case in 2020, arguing that the stammer (a severe one) was a disability within the Equality Act. Documents The documents were not professionally drafted and aren’t presented as recommended documents. However they illustrate that even with a severe stammer such as this … Read more
The tribunal refused to allow a claimant to amend his claim to add disability discrimination related to stammering. From listening to him, the tribunal said there was a “discernible, very mild stammer” which the tribunal very much doubted was a disability. In any event, the sheer weight of evidence explaining the rejection of his job … Read more
The claimant was dismissed for various reasons including bullying and threatening colleagues. The employment tribunal rejected a claim he had a stammer which (he said) started in adulthood. He contended that the stammer was why he had raised his voice in a meeting, but he gave a different explanation at the time. He had not … Read more
A claimant who spoke fast, and may or may not have had cluttering or a stammer, was held not to have a disability within the Equality Act. Employment tribunal, June 2017. Full decision: gov.uk. The claimant had a speech disorder manifesting as fast speech. A speech and language therapist suggested it was perhaps ‘cluttering’ or … Read more
The tribunal decided that the applicant’s speech impediment was a ‘physical impairment’ within the DDA. Since it undisputedly met the other requirements to be a ‘disability’, the applicant was a disabled person within the DDA. Employment Tribunal, Case No. S/105914/03, March 2004. The applicant had a speech impediment. This Tribunal decision was a preliminary determination … Read more
The claimant was dismissed after speaking in the store to his cousin and co-worker in what was described as a loud and threatening manner. He said it was his stammer that caused him to raise his voice unusually and to gesticulate. The tribunal seems to have held his stammer was a disability. Even so his … Read more