A Starbucks employee has won a tribunal claim against her employer for disability discrimination after being accused of falsifying business records which were inaccurate because of her dyslexia.
Meseret Kumulchew’s disability means she has trouble reading, writing and telling the time. She made mistakes on fridge, roster and financial records.
She asked for adjustments such as not having to do paperwork alone, having more time to do tasks, using larger font sizes in documents and being shown how to do things rather than having to learn tasks from printed materials.
Starbucks resisted the case but it eventually went against them and they now face compensation being fixed by the tribunal if it can’t be agreed.
In the meantime, Meseret remains in her job with the coffee-house.
Employers have a duty to make reasonable adjustments for employees with disabilities, which includes learning disabilities and physical disabilities. These adjustments can include changes to the layout of the workplace, ways and times of working and the duties themselves. They should be made after discussion with the employee and their doctor or with occupational health. Some employers find it hard to make these adjustments because it is more convenient to have a one-size fits all policy. Some employers don’t have HR departments that are equipped to deal with exceptions to the rule and some business are set up to make exceptions more easily than others.
The details of this case aren’t known to us but an important part of her case was that her employer had always known about her disability. Some employees are reluctant to share details about their conditions with their managers but this is an important part of obtaining the adjustments they need and of succeeding in a tribunal claim if adjustments are not provided.
The other side of the “reasonable adjustments” coin is that if adjustments are not made, an employer may be on the hook for compensation if an employee is disciplined or dismissed or forced to leave because of a reason related to their disability, unless the employer can justify its conduct with sound business logic.
The British Dyslexia Association says that dyslexia is a common learning difficulty that causes problems with reading, writing, spelling and following sequences of instructions. It estimates that one in 10 people has dyslexia to some degree. Employers should not assume that employees who are “slow on the uptake” should be held back from promotion or criticised as there may be underlying reasons and the employee may have good coping mechanisms if given a chance.
Starbucks told the media that it was in discussions with employees about providing more support to employees with disabilities.