Dwarf wins discrimination case against supermarket

A
dwarf has won a landmark discrimination claim against his former employers.

Scott
English, 19, who is four feet and four inches tall, took his former employers
Kwik Save in Whittlesey, Cambridgeshire to an employment tribunal in December
2003.

English,
who has a genetic condition of Achondroplasia Dwarfism, was 16 years old when
he started working for Kwik Save in August 2000, but when a new manager started
at the store in April 2003, he started to be treated differently.

English
was made to stack high shelves above freezer units without a ladder, because it
would waste time. He also had to work alone, pushing cages up to seven feet
high containing goods to be put on shelves around the store and, the tribunal
was told, was subjected to insults about his height from his supervisor.

Eventually,
English signed off sick suffering from work-related stress and depression. He
was prescribed anti-depressants and remained off work for six weeks.

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English
has yet to be awarded damages. His lawyer, Joanna Scales, from Peterborough law
firm Hegarty and Co, said she expects damages in the region of £15,000 to
£25,000.

By Quentin Reade