01-28-2005, 02:49 PM
Asperger’s man seeks damages for sacking
A CIVIL servant with Asperger's syndrome has raised a six-figure compensation claim against the government alleging it was guilty of disability discrimination when it sacked him after a 25-year career.
Patrick Roberts, who suffers from the rare form of autism, is taking HM Customs and Excise to an employment tribunal claiming unfair dismissal.
Lawyers for the 45-year-old, concerned at the impact on him of giving evidence because of the disorder, have made representations ahead of next week's tribunal for special measures to recognise his condition. These included allowing his mother Irene, with whom he lives in Edinburgh, to sit in on the tribunal despite her being a witness – a plea that Kenneth McGowan, who chaired a case management discussion this week, described as "a big adjustment" to normal procedure.
Mr McGowan was also asked by his legal team to make sure there was no adversarial questioning of the applicant by other parties and to veto "expansive theatrical gestures" that the former civil servant could consider frightening.
Mr Roberts was dismissed from the Customs VAT office in York Place, Edinburgh, in 2003. His condition affects the way a person communicates and relates to others.
Jane Porter, the advocate representing Mr Roberts, told the case management discussion at the employment tribunal offices in Edinburgh, that her client "will present as perfectly normal".
However, she said, his condition manifested itself in many ways including body movements such as hand-flapping, short-term memory loss and anxiety.
The advocate claimed what she was asking for were reasonable adjustments to normal procedures to accommodate her client's condition.
HM Customs and Excise are understood to have dismissed Mr Roberts for what it claimed was gross misconduct after an incident involving a line manager. Lawyers for Mr Roberts argue that the circumstances resulted from symptoms of his condition.
http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/32397.html
A CIVIL servant with Asperger's syndrome has raised a six-figure compensation claim against the government alleging it was guilty of disability discrimination when it sacked him after a 25-year career.
Patrick Roberts, who suffers from the rare form of autism, is taking HM Customs and Excise to an employment tribunal claiming unfair dismissal.
Lawyers for the 45-year-old, concerned at the impact on him of giving evidence because of the disorder, have made representations ahead of next week's tribunal for special measures to recognise his condition. These included allowing his mother Irene, with whom he lives in Edinburgh, to sit in on the tribunal despite her being a witness – a plea that Kenneth McGowan, who chaired a case management discussion this week, described as "a big adjustment" to normal procedure.
Mr McGowan was also asked by his legal team to make sure there was no adversarial questioning of the applicant by other parties and to veto "expansive theatrical gestures" that the former civil servant could consider frightening.
Mr Roberts was dismissed from the Customs VAT office in York Place, Edinburgh, in 2003. His condition affects the way a person communicates and relates to others.
Jane Porter, the advocate representing Mr Roberts, told the case management discussion at the employment tribunal offices in Edinburgh, that her client "will present as perfectly normal".
However, she said, his condition manifested itself in many ways including body movements such as hand-flapping, short-term memory loss and anxiety.
The advocate claimed what she was asking for were reasonable adjustments to normal procedures to accommodate her client's condition.
HM Customs and Excise are understood to have dismissed Mr Roberts for what it claimed was gross misconduct after an incident involving a line manager. Lawyers for Mr Roberts argue that the circumstances resulted from symptoms of his condition.
http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/32397.html
