UK disability discrimination law and stammering / stuttering
Other relevant links:
A policeman’s two-year probationary period is reported to have been extended after he repeatedly failed passing-out exams because of difficulty talking. The Sun newspaper reported that a policeman with a severe speech impediment was still on probation after five years. Normally a policeman would have a two year probationary period before qualifying as a constable. … Read more
The tribunal held that abuse and taunting by staff in relation to the claimant’s stammer were unlawful discrimination contrary to the DDA 1995. The abuse was an offshoot of friction which had arisen when the claimant started to point out perceived inefficiencies in working practices. That friction also lay at the root of aggressive and … Read more
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 2010. A medical student in the United States was granted a preliminary injunction allowing him to use a text-to-speech device in a medical exam, under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). As at mid-May 2010 the decision was being appealed. Podcast on stuttertalk.com (Episode 200) … Read more
An existing employee applied for a job as a signalman. He failed a ‘competence-based interview’ as he did not provide enough examples and evidence of his competencies. The tribunal held that his stammer was a disability. However, it held there was no breach of the duty to make reasonable adjustments because the employer could not … Read more
An employment tribunal originally decided that a job candidate with a stammer should have been allowed to give written responses to interview questions, by way of reasonable adjustment. The Employment Appeal Tribunal reversed the tribunal decision, largely on the ground that some findings of fact by the tribunal could not be supported. Employment Appeal Tribunal … Read more
THIS EMPLOYMENT TRIBUNAL DECISION HAS BEEN REVERSED ON APPEAL, in the light of the evidence in the particular case. This page summarises the original Employment Tribunal decision – but it is important to look also at the appeal decision. The Employment Tribunal decided that a person with a stammering problem in interviews should have been … Read more
An employer agreed to move a person who stammers to his own small office, in the light of social anxiety in an open plan office. A person with a severe stammer worked in an open plan office which was reasonably noisy and where social interaction was frequent. He found, over time, that working in this … Read more
A person wanted two days off work for an intensive stammering course. The employer was initially only willing for one of the days to be paid leave. The employee’s claim for the second day to be paid leave also was refused at the first stage of the employer’s internal grievance procedure. However, it was allowed … Read more
A lawyer with a stammer was turned down for a job. His DDA claim failed on the grounds that the stammer did not have a ‘substantial’ effect. It was acknowledged that all the other requirements for the stammer to be a disability were met. Employment Tribunal, Case no. S/401513/99, February 2000. Facts The claimant was … Read more
This case raises issues of physical arrangements for an interview, signs that an interviewee who stammers is at a substantial disadvantage (questions not answered ‘fully’ or ‘properly’), and weighting of information on application form. There was no tribunal decision in the case as it was settled out of court, without admission of liability by the … Read more