Deaf News: Deaf man wins discrimination case after behaviour was ‘misinterpreted’ as being ‘aggressive’

A profoundly deaf former employee of a South London care home has succeeded with his discrimination case at an employment tribunal, after the judge found that colleagues “misinterpreted” his attempts to communicate as “aggressive”.

Colin Thatcher, 57, faced several allegations from Premiere Care Limited, including claims that he took photos of staff and made ‘gestures’ to colleagues.

Commenting on the complaints from two fellow workers, Employment Judge Hyams-Parish said: “It was apparent that they misinterpreted and misunderstood the Claimant’s mannerisms and behaviour which were attributed to his disability.”

The ruling also includes information about a meeting between Mr Thatcher and the HR department, which took place without the provision of a British Sign Language interpreter for Mr Thatcher.

With regards to Mr Thatcher’s manager, the judge said: “The Tribunal was surprised to hear [him] use the term ‘deaf and dumb’ to describe [Mr Thatcher].

“This… suggested a pattern of intolerance, prejudice, and a lack of sympathy, with [Mr Thatcher’s] disabilities, and very little interest in adjusting his communication style to make it easier for [Mr Thatcher] to understand.

“The Tribunal concluded this to be a relevant factor to take into account because it finds that he played a part in reporting the allegation of taking photos of staff and patients,” he said.

Alongside ruling that Mr Thatcher suffered direct discrimination from Premiere Care Limited, Judge Hyams-Parish also found that he was unfairly dismissed and that the company failed to make reasonable adjustments for him.

Premiere Care has been approached by The Limping Chicken for comment.

The employment tribunal’s full decision can be read on the UK Government’s website.

Photo: © 2020 Google.

By Liam O’Dell, with credit to Josh Salisbury. Liam is a mildly deaf freelance journalist and campaigner from Bedfordshire. He wears bilateral hearing aids and can be found talking about disability, theatre, politics and more on Twitter and on his website.