After being informed by a superior, “We’ve all had back issues here, friend,” an Aston Martin employee with spinal arthritis has earned more than £36,000 in a disability claim.
Sean Deanie, a leather trimmer and fitter at the luxury automobile manufacturer, said that his supervisor made the insensitive remark after hearing him describe his back problems.
Mr. Deanie, who came to the Aston Martin trim shop wearing a back brace, filed a lawsuit against the venerable English manufacturer for the lack of assistance he got.
He was not sent to occupational health, and a tribunal heard that since his office chair was unsupportive, he was forced to bring in his sister’s hairdressing stool.
His plea for less hours was also denied, and he was ultimately compelled to work extra, which made his back issue worse, before leaving.
He has now been awarded £36,105 after a Birmingham labour tribunal determined that Aston Martin failed to provide the legally required accommodations for his impairment.
Implementing extra safeguards for Mr. Deanie, according to Aston Martin, would be “extremely costly.”
Between January 2018 and July 2019, Mr. Deanie worked in the trim shop at the company’s cutting-edge headquarters in Gaydon, Warwickshire.
He was described as a “excellent worker, conscientious, industrious, and dependable” by the tribunal.
He had a lot of “bending, twisting, and lifting” to perform since part of his job entailed cutting leather on the headliners of Aston Martins (the inside roof).
The task was reduced from a two-person job to a one-person job in order to make things function, which put a heavy burden on Mr. Deanie’s back.
He said he felt “obligated” to continue because he was “worried” he would be “culled” if he voiced his concerns about how an agency operated.
The lead technician Dave Thomas, who testified before the tribunal, told him that other coworkers had back problems but did not express compassion.
According to a report, Mr. Deanie would have to spray his own job once more since there weren’t enough men to finish the day’s task, according to Mr. Thomas.
We’ve had back troubles here, buddy, Mr. Thomas responded while holding onto his own back as Mr. Deanie mentioned his back problem.
Mr. Deanie gave up using the office chair and brought in his sister’s barber stool, but the bosses were unaware and did nothing.
The tribunal panel stated: “It does not seem to have created any special alarm among his management that he had to bring in his sister’s hairdressing stool to rest on owing to his back discomfort.”
They did not send him to occupational health, in particular.
Aston Martin failed to report Mr. Deanie to occupational health at any point despite what we believe to be the very clear back difficulties he was having while working, according to the evidence in this case.
Because Aston Martin provides on-site occupational health care at Gaydon, it was convenient.
Mr. Deanie had to visit A&E in February 2019 due to back discomfort since he was “gasping for air” at work.
When his plea to avoid working overtime due to his poor back was denied in July 2019, he gave up.
He requested a coworker named Anna Quinn to do the task before he departed.
She was hesitant to comply, however, since she also had back problems.
In contrast to Mr. Deanie, Aston Martin had sent her to occupational health, where she received help.
The tribunal determined that Aston Martin could have freed him of overtime, decreased his work quota, supplied a customised chair, delegated part of his responsibilities to a second person, and more.
The panel came to the following conclusion: “Aston Martin had considerable and pertinent resources available to them, but they decided not to employ them.
Specifically, the choice to submit Mr. Deanie for an ergonomic or occupational health examination.
We believed that the decision not to employ the alternatives that would have included formal consultation with Mr. Deanie by relevant specialists was a clear indication of a failure to take all reasonable steps to learn about the disadvantages he was facing.
No effort was made to determine the cost of any suggested adjustments… They would be too pricey, according to Aston Martin.
Overall, in the Tribunal’s opinion, and in light of the size and resources of the Company, these modifications were neither unduly disruptive nor costly.
They probably intended for Mr. Deanie to continue working so they could keep the services of a capable and valuable employee.
Despite losing a direct handicap discrimination suit, Mr. Deanie was successful in his failing to provide reasonable accommodations argument.
It was determined that Mr. Thomas’ remark regarding others having poor backs did not constitute direct disability discrimination.
According to Mr. Deanie, “I was unable to continue in my position owing to the lack of changes, since I was experiencing increasing discomfort and was unable to handle the planned workload and work hours.”
The whole crew at Aston Martin Lagonda had to complete the required number of tasks.
This expectation included a lot of physical activity, which made my back problem worse.
“Twisting, bending, and straining to manoeuvre the covers into position” were all part of the physical demands of my headline job, which was undoubtedly the most difficult on my midsection.