Published on 12, July, 2020
Good afternoon my fellow aspies.
I would like to speak to you all regarding something that i feel very passionately about.
This would be the impact that Autism can have in the work place on a social level.
I personally have experienced a great deal of friction in this area and it has had a significant impact on my well being. These difficulties have been ignored by my employer. This is an absurdity to me as it was my employer that paid for my diagnosis. The truth is that i would never have pursued a diagnosis had it not been for the impact that my Autistic Spectrum Disorder (commonly known as Aspergers) has on my day to day working life.
The difficulties i experience are many but the issue i would like to focus on in particular are the social issues. In a nut shell 'i am come across as arrogant, aloof and lack a sense of hierarchy'. Throughout my working life i beleive this has made me a target for bullying and harassment in the work place. It has caused me to leave a number of jobs (admittedly i had not received my formal diagnosis at these times).
For various reasons not dissimilar to those that have materialised in other jobs, i am now in dispute with my current employer. The difference here is that i have had my diagnosis and this was paid for by my current employer. Bizarrely my employer is now denying my disability even though they paid for the diagnosis.
What i have found utterly shocking however throughout this situation is not simply the ignorance of my employer. It is also my experience with the organisation we all know as ACAS. This is an organisation i turned to in the hope that they would assist me in resolving issues with my current employer. How wrong i was. To any of you that experience issues in the work place; please be careful when dealing with this organisation.
It is my understanding that this organisation is supposed to be impartial. My experience so far has shown to me that they are entirely biased in favour of the employer. Their involvement has also perversely affected the behavior of my employer also.
I informed my conciliator that i had Autistic Spectrum Disorder from the outset of their involvement. I offered to have someone from the NHS explain to her what the condition was. She was dismissive of the offer and claimed she knew exactly what it was. From this point onward i felt that she didnt take me seriously at all.
I do not want to go into to much detail about this case at the moment but i would say that she advised me to agree to all of my employers demands, was reluctant to communicate with me and at one stage told me 'i was paranoid, should go see my cousellor and should go for a walk to clear my head'.
I made a request to see her line manager and had to wait until the last day of the allocated conciliation time frame to speak to him. When i did speak to him, he explained to me that he was responsible for giving out Autism Awareness training to his staff. For a split second i found this comforting; that was until he then proceeded to tell me how autism and aspergers where to separate conditions. As i underdtand it, aspergers technically doesn't exist when it comes to DSM5 criteria. Correct me if im wrong.
Further to this, someone at ACAS has informed my employer that i had made a complaint (which i am certain breaches data protection laws). They have also told my employer that everything they have done (with regards to myself) will stand up to any 3rd party scrutiny. This beggars belief for me for the following reasons:-
1. They are supposed to be impartial.
2. They are not supposed to give legal advice.
3. They are not qualified to give legal advice.
4. How can they know what is correct regarding my treatment if they themselves are not properly educated on my condition.
I have since been in contact with a long lost school friend and amazingly he has recently been diagnosed and is experiencing similar social issues in the work place. He has told me that his experience with ACAS has been equally troubling.
What on earth is this organisation? Am i correct in assuming that as an arm of the government, this organisation should be subject to statutory guidance as set out in the 2009 autism strategy? If you have work issues and feel you have to turn to this organisation, i urge you to be very wary of them.
I have a witness. I have several points of attack and i only need prove one to be successful
If you have a disability you are covered from the moment you walk through the door. This is an important thing for you to remember.
Not heard that one before - but good luck with your hearing - hope it goes well but be prepared for any outcome.
This isnt accurate. The disabilities act negates the 2 year period where i am concerned. If this was the case i wouldnt have my tribunal hearing next week.
Plastic said:Less than 2 years? sorry, but you're toast. The law will not protect you with less than 2 years
This is what I read as well. Very convenient for abusive employers to provide short contracts nowadays, or no contract at all. They can get away with murder.
The price of their behavior on my mental health has already been a heavy one.
Though throughout i have always done my job well.
Well good luck, I sincerely wish you all the best. I can understand wanting to stay there in terms of the sameness we like and dislike of change, and if you’ve only got this issue to clear up then I hope you have a happy and long career there
Less than 2 years? sorry, but you're toast. The law will not protect you with less than 2 years service.
I'd love them to sack me as i would then be able to bring in a no win-no fee solicitor. I am not disruptive in the work place. They haven't leveled a single complaint about my behavior.
Ive only been with this employer for 20 months.
No doubt if i fail i will end up sacked.
He will deny that in court. Your word against his without clear, written evidence.
Risk:
-deterioration of mental health
-expensive legal fees
-singling yourself out when it comes to future employment as there is always somebody who knows somebody and gossip spreads. I had two interviews compromised by the fact the interviewers were friendly with management in the previous shithole that breached the GDPR and allowed its employees to engage in bullying intimidatory practices.
-nothing will change for the better
-relationships in the office will worsen. If you decide to stay there, it could become intolerable
-corporate gaslighting
-sued for libel or slander. David vs Goliath
-nobody will get punished and nobody will get fired. However the target will now be visible on your back
-they broke the law before. It is likely that that won't change going forward
Reward:
-you will win and have the moral high ground
- you will have made a stand
-you might get a decent cash lump sum for compensation. But what is the likelihood of this and then what next for your career?
My managing director openly admitted he shared my emails with his wife. This is a clear breach of the GDPR. I will let this go after the conclusion. I will not be walked all over however.
But they might say they bent over backwards for you (sent staff on training etc,) but you were incompatible with their business and disruptive in the workplace (impossible for you to argue with that with any hard facts)..
If you're lucky, you might get enhanced redundancy terms - maybe a couple months 'garden leave' thrown in and maybe paid in lew of notice period.
I doubt you'll be talking much more than 12-months pay in total. Even after 15 years - especially if you've peed the MD off.
It's called being managed out of the situation.
'The invisible disability' says it all. I know i could well lose this especially as i am representing myself. I have to try however. With them now denying my disability, i dread to think of how they will behave towards me in future without a win.
If i lose it will be a life on benefits in the short term at least. I stand to lose my car, my home and my credit worthiness. The stakes for me are very high indeed.
I think they paid for it because they thought i would not be diagnosed. That they thought i was making it up.
I had them (and i had to ask) go out to staff and give them all awareness training on my condition. This resolved a huge volume of social issues i was experiencing in my work place. It just goes to show that awareness is key!
I was no longer being viewed as a weirdo by my colleagues and my life got easier. I think the process bent my managing directors nose out of joint however and he has been keen to retaliate ever since.
This has been a story of a failure of the duty of care for me. I do my job well and without ACAS involvement, this may have been resolved amicably. I cant stress how awful their input has been from my perspective.
I will be very wary of ACAS. What a horrible sordid situation. We are definitely in the minority in this world :( my past employer breached the GDPR as well. The difficulty is letting the bloody thing go. I can't offer much advice on this except try not to ruminate over the injustices done to you. The big corporations don't care and laws obviously don't keep us safe if they're so wilfully breached. However, no surprise from a Tory government. I feel angry on your behalf. It is hard to let go of injustice. Sorry this has happened to you.
Lots of people see easy ££££ signs when talking tribunals - the truth is very different.
Have you considered saying to the management that they are in clear breach on the equality act because of X, Y and Z.
If they make you a PROPER redundancy offer of £xxx to avoid the tribunal and you'll be gone? Maybe get a letter from a solicitor to back you up.
Otherwise, where do you seriously think this will end (forgetting all the anger and butthurt)?
I dont know if i can win or not as i have no experience. To me the discrimination is black and white. I can argue this comfortably from a moral stand point. We will find out if i can do it from a legal stand point in the near future.
The financial reward is not the priority. It is justice. If i do win however, they will be staring down the barrel of a constructive dismissal claim soon after. I hear the financial awards are much greater for that. It would be in their interests to adjust their behavior.
I have had issues in job after job simply due to the social aspects. It has to stop one way or another. If i fail its the end of my career as i cant do this anymore.
You said they paid for the diagnosis? I wonder if they were hoping there was some way you could be "fixed"? If that seems not to be the case, and they are still unhappy with the way things are going, then maybe they are trying to "resolve" their perceived problem.
I make no moral judgement on that either way.
As BlueRay has said, it's quite likely that even if this went to court and you won, there's a good chance things won't be the sunny uplands that you are hoping for. The norms will not just take it, shrug and move on, it will rankle with them and fester. The likelihood is that any uncomfortable atmosphere will get worse, not better.
I admire you current resolve to stick to your current course, and perhaps it will help other people down the line, but I wouldn't bank on it helping you. I think a lot of people who win these high-profile court battles, often end-up moving on afterwards because things have changed after to such an extent that their position is no longer viable. I suspect a reasonable percentage of them also become essentially unemployable in that industry because nobody wants to hire a nationally known troublemaker...
I'd be inclined to see if you could get a good offer out-of-court and have some time to think about what you might do next. As I have recently been seeing for myself, sometimes the ability to do the job, isn't really the ability you need to do the job in a norm company...