A tribunal for employment has found in favor of a garage trainee who claimed that his ADHD led to his unfair dismissal after a co-worker tampered with the lunch he brought.
Claimant BFH was fired from his job at Scania’s depot in Swindon in July 2023 after he sent a “smashing message” to a man he believed had pranked by “smashing crisps” and “poking finger-sized holes in his sandwiches”.
Scania supervisors said that they could not act because they didn’t know who interfered with BFH lunch.
BFH argued that managers failed to take into account his ADHD, so dismissing him was unfair. The tribunal found that the bosses had a right to dismiss him because of his unacceptable behaviour.
The court dismissed his claims of disability discrimination and harassment due to his condition, as well as the failure to make reasonable accommodations.
BFH started working at the depot when he turned 16 in February 2020.
The tribunal heard how the apprentices on the site would often play pranks, stealing each other’s tools.
After he reacted angrily to a colleague wrapping one of his tools in electrical tape, the claimant received a final written notice in 2021.
The tribunal heard that he “grabbed the man by the collar” and “held on to him”, before a supervisor intervened. However, because he was honest, apologetic, and wrote in to explain his mistake during the investigation, he wasn’t dismissed.
Crushed crisps
Soon after beginning his shift in July 2023 BFH found that someone had crushed the crisps and bars of chocolate, pierced holes into his sandwiches with their fingers, and opened teabags before sprinkling leaves on his lunch bag.
BFH stated that he was “upset and dismayed” and had now no food to eat until he returned home. The tribunal heard that after throwing away what was left of the lunch, he reported the incident.
He made threats to him on Snapchat, and then threatened to harm the person who he thought was responsible. He later apologized to his colleague.
Gurpreet Vik, Gurpreet’s business partner in the people department, recommended that the claimant be suspended. She wrote, “As unfortunate as it is that this person has ruined the luncheon, we cannot tolerate threatening behavior and based on my reading he is a danger to our employees and himself if things escalate further.”
Virk spoke with the claimant’s mother. She said that he has been diagnosed with ADHD for years and was taking medication intermittently. Virk began making arrangements for a referral to the OH.
Difficulty in controlling emotions
The claimant, as the incident was being investigated, wrote to the manager involved informing him about his ADHD and his difficulty controlling emotions. He wrote, “I have ADHD and I have been struggling with it for many years. I try to hide this as much as possible to fit in. I hope this will help you understand my reactions and Scania has an Equal Opportunities Policy… please take this into consideration on this occasion.”
After the incident at lunch, he was suspended and later dismissed.
Craig Sutton, the manager, dismissed the claimant despite the fact that he had admitted his threats were wrong and unacceptable. This was because OH agreed BFH knew the difference between what is right and wrong. They had also made repeated threats. Sutton took into consideration the apology of BHF, but said that he couldn’t be certain a similar incident wouldn’t happen again.
The tribunal decided that “dismissal is necessary to protect the employees”. The judge wrote that “there is no basis upon which I can find that the claimant has been treated less favorably due to his ADHD.” The ADHD was considered as a mitigating circumstance. “It must be obvious that someone who did not have ADHD and had behaved the same way, would also have been dismissed.”
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