The Complainant contended that he was dismissed by the Respondent on grounds of his disability. The Complainant was employed as a Design Engineer for the Respondent when his employment was terminated in July 2017 - on the completion of two six-month contracts.

In his interview, the Complainant informed the Respondent that he had a severe speech impediment. The Respondent advised the Complainant that the job required dealing with customers and suppliers. The Complainant assured the Respondent that he would mostly use email in any event.

After a six-month review, the Complainant’s efforts were praised by the Finance Director of the Respondent Company. However, in July 2017, the Complainant was informed by the Respondent that it “was not working out because of the whole communication thing”. The Complainant submitted that he was in shock and that the Respondent made no attempt to communicate with him about his disability and if there were issues, possible ways that they might be addressed by the parties.

According to the Respondent’s submission, the Complainant was advised that his contract was not going to be extended due to the ongoing shortcomings in the design drawings he was preparing. The Respondent further submitted that they made every effort to accommodate the Complainant.

The Adjudication Officer was satisfied that the Complainant had established a bona fide case that the Respondent engaged in an act of discrimination contrary to the provisions of the Equality legislation. The Adjudication Officer was also satisfied that the Respondent failed to rebut the claim on the balance of probability. Therefore, the Complainant was awarded a sum of €15,000 in compensation.
https://www.workplacerelations.ie/en/cases/2019/september/adj-00012412.html