Deaf man wins pay out for discrimination

A deaf man who was refused a job because his potential employers
would not allow him to avoid telephone work, has won £7,436
damages in a landmark case, writes Sally
Gillen.

Mark Keane, whose case was fought by the Disability Rights
Commission, is the first deaf person to use the Disability
Discrimination Act to prove he was the victim of
discrimination.

Lincolnshire Hospital NHS Trust, which was forced to pay out
under Section 6 of the act, refused to employ Keane as a part-time
medical records clerk job because he could not answer incoming
calls, despite the fact that using the phone was not a major part
of the role.

An employment tribunal in Nottingham decided that the tasks
could be rearranged so that Keane did not have to answer the phone
at all.

Commission chairperson Bert Massie said the organisation was
“delighted” at the outcome of the case, describing the case as “a
victory for the civil rights of disabled people”.

Massie added: “What this case emphasises is that there is now an
onus on employers to make adjustments so as to remove barriers that
disabled people face every day when they go for jobs and which
result in discrimination.”

Keane said: “I feel sad that this had to happen, but if it leads
to more deaf people getting jobs then something good will have come
out of it.”

Meanwhile, a disabled man who was suspended from his job as an
assistant building site manager for seven months because of his
diabetes, has won £20,000 in an out of court settlement.