A blind man who was sacked during his probation period at a Wrexham bakery is seeking over £112,000 in damages and other payments.
An employment tribunal found that not enough was done by bosses at The Village Bakery in Coedpoeth to accommodate Ian Stanley and help him adjust to his role.
He was dismissed six weeks into his three-month probationary period and the company, which employs 170 at the plant, claimed that it was on health and safety grounds, that production levels were affected and that there was a risk of damage to machinery.
But in upholding his claim of “unfavourable treatment” in being dismissed because of his disability, Employment Judge Rhian Brace commented: “We accept that in principle the aims relied on were capable of being legitimate aims, we were only persuaded that the first, that of efficient production, was in the respondent’s mind when dismissing the claimant.”
Mr Stanley, who is registered blind and was diagnosed with Bardet Biedl Syndrome in 2010, had previously worked as a packer in another factory for 18 years when he was taken on by The Village Bakery in July, 2023.
The tribunal heard that his bosses knew of his disability and night shift manager Kevin Jones said he very soon received reports that Mr Stanley was making lots of mistakes, crashing racks of bread into machinery, dropping loaves and not cleaning trays properly.
Leave a Reply