Overview

• Employment Judge Stephen Jenkins found that describing Nicholas James as a “weirdo” and likening his autism to a hangover constituted unwanted conduct violating his dignity under equality law.
• James was awarded £17,154.86 in compensation, including £15,000 for injury to feelings, after The Venture was found guilty of disability discrimination and harassment.
• The tribunal ruled that the charity failed to accommodate James’s sensitivity to background music and wrongly removed him from open-access sessions.
• James’s claims of victimisation and unauthorised wage deductions were upheld alongside his discrimination complaints.
• The verdict sets a precedent reinforcing employers’ duty to accommodate disabled staff and prohibit derogatory remarks in the workplace.