Website updates July to August 2019
‘Reasonable access’ New link to www.reasonableaccess.org.uk, a small organisation led by disabled people. It wants to empower other disabled people in the UK to assert and enforce rights to access….
Owen v Amec Foster Wheeler Energy
The Court of Appeal held it was not disability discrimination on the facts to refuse to send an employee on an assignment to Dubai because of high medical risk. The…
Stammering Pride and Prejudice: book launch
Friday 27th September 2019, at City Lit, London. ‘Stammering Pride and Prejudice’ challenges the stereotype that stammering is inherently negative. It positions stammering as a different, valuable and respected way…
Perceived disability: Chief Constable of Norfolk v Coffey
For the first time, an appeal court has upheld a claim that (direct) discrimination because the claimant was perceived to have a disability is unlawful under the Equality Act. The…
Website updates May to June 2019
Employment stammering networks Some companies and organistions have networks of staff who stammer. There may be one in your employer, or you could start one up. They can provide support…
This site is now on WordPress!
From June 2019 this site has a more modern look. It also works much better on smartphones. For the past few months I’ve been busy moving this website onto WordPress,…
Website updates to April 2019
Recent updates to this website. April 2019 Update of the three Vento bands for compensation for injury to feelings in employment cases. March 2019 Main post-16 page updated, including more…
C & C v The Governing Body of a School
Regulations say that a tendency to physical abuse cannot be a disability under Equality Act 2010. It had therefore been held that an autistic child with a tendency to lash…
Natwest advert withdrawn
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…
M v Mitie Aviation Security
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…
Petrol station (July 2017)
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…
Blamires v Local Government Ombudsman
The claimant had ME/CFS, and also dystonia which affected her speech. She referred a complaint against a county council to the Local Government Ombudsman and requested support because of her…
Bus driver laughs at passenger’s stammer (March 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…
Coffee shop mocks stammer on customer’s cup (January 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…
Paulley v First Group plc
A bus company had a policy that if a wheelchair user needed the wheelchair space, the driver would request other passengers to vacate it, but would not require them to….
Galo v Bombadier Aerospace
The court overturned a Northern Irish industrial tribunal decision because the tribunal had not made appropriate adjustments for the claimant’s Asperger’s Syndrome. The tribunal should have paid attention to the…