Disability Access News

A deaf woman has won a case against a potential employer after complaining that she was discriminated against prior to the interview stage. Pauline Alexander applied for temping work within Sales Link Services, a recruitment agency in London. She had formerly been the director of a property company, and was well qualified for the role for which she was applying.

When she contacted Sales Link Services about the position, she was told that her hearing impairment would be a barrier to doing the job. Although she was asked to send in a CV, the company contacted her shortly afterwards to tell her that she would not be invited to interview because of her hearing loss. It was only when Ms Alexander pointed out that this was discriminatory that the company backed down and offered her an interview.

When Ms Alexander took the case to an employment tribunal, it ruled that she had been unfairly discriminated against under the Disability Discrimination Act. Sales Link Services was ordered to pay £5,000 in compensation, as well as legal fees. However, she found that this part of the process was not free from obstacles, as she explained: ‘I'd also like to see an overhaul of the tribunal system to make it more “disability friendly”, including deaf and disability awareness training for all tribunal staff, especially those on tribunal panels.’