Friday, 22 July 2011

Topsy-Turvey Britain…

Can you sexually harass another person while at work and get away with it? No, but it seems you can get a pretty big payout.

Wait. What?
A BBC picture editor who was sacked for waging a campaign of gay harassment against a colleague has been awarded £4,000 compensation - because the corporation failed to take account of his bipolar disorder.
Ummm, what?

So, they shouldn’t have sacked him?

Well, no. Even the Tribunal couldn’t say that:
He lost his claim for unfair dismissal after a tribunal found the BBC was within its rights to sack him.

But he was awarded £4,000 after the tribunal found BBC bosses should have made "reasonable adjustments" under the Disability Discrimination Act.
What sort of ‘reasonable adjustment? The mind fair boggles…
The Central London tribunal accepted the BBC had "no real alternative" but to dismiss Steer after his behaviour "became more than just unwelcome, reaching the point it was threatening".
If they had no alternative, then why award him the money?
After the hearing Mr Steer said: "I'm happy to win my tribunal for discrimination of my bipolar condition. But I'm still saddened by the lack of understanding and humanity shown by the BBC towards my mental health condition."
Should they have abandoned their duty of care to the other employee, then, in order to accommodate you?

I’ve got a horrible feeling that the answer might well have been ‘Yes’. Still, it’s not the Beeb’s money, is it..?
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8 comments:

  1. Anonymous22 July 2011 at 09:51

    The old "not my fault, I've got a disability/disorder/syndrome" defence...

    Had he been an "effnik", he would have had a great victimhood poker hand. Not quite a flush but enough to bluff a larger payout.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oldrightie22 July 2011 at 09:53

    So does this mean bi-polar disorder makes you gay? That gays have a mental issue? Most confusing.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Shinar's Basket Case22 July 2011 at 10:11

    "... at work ...A BBC"

    Dichotomy much?

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  4. Captain Haddock22 July 2011 at 10:33

    "Dichotomy much" ?

    If the person whom Steer had been harassing had been a Lesbian .. would that have made it a Strap-a-Dichotomy ? ... ;)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Shinar's Basket Case22 July 2011 at 10:37

    " Strap-a-Dichotomy ? ... ;)"

    *is wiping coffee and snot off his laptop screen having *snorked* half a litre of best java*

    ReplyDelete
  6. Tattyfalarr22 July 2011 at 15:15

    For "discrimination of my bipolar condition" read "they just wouldn't let me do exactly as I wanted, when I wanted."

    Mental illness...untreated or feigned...is a bottomless pit you indulge at your own risk :/

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  7. Anonymous22 July 2011 at 18:16

    "Can you sexually harass another person while at work and get away with it?"

    Are you sure it was S/H and not just "overstepping the mark"?

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/5809844/BBC-suspends-Hardeep-Singh-Kohli-after-female-researchers-complaint.html

    Compare and contrast with Carol Thatch and Big Ron...

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  8. JuliaM23 July 2011 at 05:55

    "The old "not my fault, I've got a disability/disorder/syndrome" defence..."

    Exactly!

    "If the person whom Steer had been harassing had been a Lesbian .. would that have made it a Strap-a-Dichotomy ? ... ;)"

    SNORK!

    "Compare and contrast with Carol Thatch and Big Ron..."

    A Straight Flush in Victimhood Poker is amazing, isn't it?

    ReplyDelete