UK disability discrimination law and stammering / stuttering
‘Case studies’ are examples of things that actually happened as regards stammering. However they didn’t go to court so there is no court decision.
A woman who stammers says that a staff member at a Costa in Wakefield laughed twice as she stammered when ordering a tea. She says that ordering a tea with lactose-free milk, she got stuck on “lac” and the staff member did a little laugh to herself. When the customer went to speak again, she … Read more Laughed at in coffee shop (Sept 2019)
A BSA member showed that complaining can make a difference when he tweeted about an insensitive advert. A NatWest advert read: ‘Making sure your start-up doesn’t stutter’. A British Stammering Association member put on it on Twitter tagging @NatWest_Help. The tweet invited feedback from people who stammer, which was negative. Natwest responded: ‘Following your feedback … Read more Natwest advert withdrawn
A civil servant claims that staff at a Sainsburys petrol station mimicked his stammer when he had difficulty pronouncing his pump number, and laughed at his speech. According to him one of them said: ‘Why don’t you have another beer?’ and they didn’t seem too bothered when he said he had a stammer. It was … Read more Petrol station (July 2017)
A bus company in Staffordshire apologised to a customer after one of its drivers laughed at her as she tried to buy a ticket. She said the driver put his head down and started smirking and laughing at her. She said to him, ‘Do you think it’s funny to laugh at people with disabilities?’, and … Read more Bus driver laughs at passenger’s stammer (March 2017)
Starbucks asks a customer’s name when he or she orders a drink, and writes it on the cup. In this particular case, when the customer stammered on his name the barista allegedly wrote RRR…ichard on the cup. The customer found this extremely offensive and humiliating. He complained on the Starbucks Facebook page. The barista was … Read more Coffee shop mocks stammer on customer’s cup (January 2017)
A teetotal customer with a stammer was initially refused a coffee at a pub, because staff thought he was drunk. His slurring was due to a stammer. He tried to explain this but staff disagreed. The manager only approved the order after a friend stepped in and confirmed he had a stammer. Link Stammerer refused … Read more Being mistaken for drunk
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 Extended probationary period
A person with cerebral palsy was trying to take out a subscription to a sports channel. The caller said that the person who took his call kept saying ‘What?’ and ‘Sorry?’ although they could understand him, then started to laugh at him and hung up. After the sports station was contacted, managers listened to the … Read more Pretending not to understand, laughing and hanging up phone (October 2008)
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 Case study: open plan office and anxiety
A job applicant who stammers was provided with facilities at an interview where he could type answers into a laptop and these would be projected onto the wall or a large screen. Case study An applicant mentioned his stammering on the job application form. There was a question in the form about whether he would … Read more Projector case study