A man with moderate to severe hearing loss has settled his disability discrimination case against Northern Ireland’s Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) for £50,000 – paid without admission of liability.
Christopher Morrow worked as a ranger at Crawfordsburn Country Park, near Bangor, Co Down, through an employment agency from 2018 for nearly four years.
His hearing loss means he wears two hearing aids and reads facial expressions and body language to understand people. The acoustics of his surroundings and his proximity to others can also make it hard for him to hear.
When permanent park ranger roles were advertised at the park, Morrow applied for a position indicating on his application form that he had a disability.
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Before his interview in February 2021, during the Covid pandemic, Morrow said he asked a manager if he could have the questions written in front of him during the interview to help him hear them and to avoid asking them to be repeated.
This request was immediately refused. He also emailed HR to ask them to ensure that all interview panel members were aware of his hearing loss.
The panel interviewed Morrow in a large room, with a wooden floor and a high ceiling. The interviewers sat behind a screen about 5-6 metres away from him.
He said that one panel member spoke very quickly, with his head down, and Morrow found hearing very difficult in this environment. He was not asked if he needed any adjustments for the interview.
Fifteen park rangers were appointed, but not Morrow, and feedback from his interview included the comment: “Candidate asked for multiple repetitions of questions meaning the interview ran over time”.
Morrow said this week: “I tried on several occasions to make DAERA aware of my disability and requested some simple adjustments at interview that would have really helped me in the recruitment process.
“I was very disappointed indeed that I missed out on the opportunity for a permanent position in a job I really enjoyed. I had a legal right to reasonable adjustments which would allow me to compete on a level playing field, and I think what I asked for was simple and straightforward.”
Mary Kitson, senior legal officer at the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland, which supported Morrow’s case, said: “The Disability Discrimination Act requires employers to introduce reasonable adjustments to recruitment and selection procedures for applicants with disabilities, to ensure that disabled people are not disadvantaged.
“The purpose of the duty is to enable job applicants who have disabilities to enjoy the same opportunities as all other candidates to obtain and remain in work.”
She explained that what is “reasonable” may be different in every case – the law says employers must take such steps as are reasonable to remove any physical or procedural barriers which the disabled person may face when seeking work.
As part of the settlement, DAERA in conjunction with Northern Ireland’s Department of Finance, has undertaken to liaise with the commission to review its policies and procedures and how they are applied to ensure they conform with disability legislation.
It has also agreed to implement any reasonable recommendations the commission may make, including any regarding the training of management and staff. DAERA also affirmed its strong commitment to equality of opportunity in employment.
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A DAERA spokesman said: “It is not appropriate to comment on individual employment matters. DAERA will closely consider the outcome of this case, working with the Equality Commission NI, and implement any lessons learned.”
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