Worker gets £17,000 after boss calls him weirdo

Nicholas James is autistic and says he could not work properly at The Venture due to music being played

A children's centre worker who was called a weirdo by his boss has been paid more than £17,000 after a tribunal judge found the comment violated his dignity.

Nicholas James, who is autistic, complained in 2023 that he could not work properly at The Venture in Wrexham because of music being played, which affected his ability to concentrate.

The employment tribunal in Cardiff heard chief officer Malcolm King joked to him: "Why can't you be ordinary and perfect like the rest of us? But no, jokes aside, having always been something of a weirdo myself, I have some sympathy."

Judge Stephen Jenkins said the comments were "inappropriate" given Mr King's position and, on reflection, he agreed.

Mr Jenkins told the tribunal these comments came from the chief officer, "the most senior person within the executive structure of the organisation".

"In the circumstances, we were satisfied that the comments did involve unwanted conduct which had the effect of violating the claimant's dignity," he added.

The Venture provides a range of community-based services, primarily for children and young people.

Mr James sued the registered charity after being suspended, claiming he was "continually disregarded because of his condition".

In a separate incident on 9 February 2024, Mr King questioned Mr James's ability to work in "open access sessions" and compared it to someone not being able to operate after a "good booze up", the tribunal heard.

"The discussion involved around Mr King's own concerns that the claimant's work and care for children would be impacted by his mental health situation," Mr Jenkins said.

"And we felt that that concern was trivialised by Mr King's comparison of that with someone attending work suffering with a hangover."

The Venture was ordered to pay Mr James £17,154.86 in compensation, including £15,000 for injury to feelings, after the judge partly upheld his complaints of disability discrimination and failure to make reasonable adjustments.