A man with cerebral palsy has received £25k compensation after alleging his job had changed and that he was told not to ‘play the disability card’.
Ryan Walker, had worked as a sales assistant at Home Bargains’ Armagh shop in Northern Ireland, since 2017 and had told the firm he could only manage his disability by taking on a physically active role.
For this reason he was initially asked to stack shelves. But, he alleged, things started to change when a new supervisor joined in late 2020, who regularly asked him to cover checkouts and work extra hours.
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Mr Walker claimed he was happy to help on checkouts, but could only do so for short periods of time as he needed to move around. When he attempted to explain this to his employer he was told not to “play the disability card.”
He said: “It made me really upset hearing that from someone in a management team who had a duty of care over me – it made me feel not wanted.” He added he lost his trust in the management team.
Because of the failure to provide reasonable adjustments for him, he contacted the company’s wellbeing team and lodged a formal complaint. He later resigned from his job.
Home Bargains settled the case without admitting liability.
The company told the BBC: “We consider this to be a private matter and out of respect for the individual’s privacy we will not be providing any comment or further information on this case.”
Mr Walker said his experience had been awful and he had gone from “enjoying a job for three years to dreading going into work”.
His case was supported by the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland for whom Mary Kitson, senior legal officer, said: “There is simply no place for disability discrimination in workplaces in Northern Ireland.
“Ryan was keen to work and valued his employment. He proactively advised his employer about his disability from the outset and reasonable adjustments were agreed.
“The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 imposes a duty on employers to make reasonable adjustments to remove barriers to the recruitment and employment of people with disabilities.
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“Employers must operate within our equality laws. They must ensure that they treat all employees who are disabled with dignity and respect in the workplace. No employee with a disability should feel that their needs are not understood or valued by their employer.”
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