A children's centre worker who was called a "weirdo" by a colleague has been paid more than £17,000 after a tribunal judge found the comment violated his dignity.
Nicholas James, who is autistic, complained in 2023 to bosses at The Venture in Wrexham that he could not work properly because of music being played at the premises which he said affected his ability to concentrate, the employment tribunal in Cardiff heard.
Chief officer Malcolm King joked to him in November of that year: "Why can't you be ordinary and perfect like the rest of us? But no, jokes aside, having always been something of a weirdo myself, I have some sympathy."
Judge Stephen Jenkins said: "They were comments from the respondent's chief officer, the most senior person within the executive structure of the organisation, and were comments which Mr King himself has, on reflection, agreed were inappropriate.
"In the circumstances, we were satisfied that the comments did involve unwanted conduct which had the effect of violating the claimant's dignity."
The Venture was ordered to pay Mr James £17,154.86 in compensation, including £15,000 for injury to feelings, after the judge partly upheld his complaints of disability discrimination and failure to make reasonable adjustments.
He had sued the registered charity after being suspended, claiming that he was "continually disregarded because of his condition".
On February 9 2024, Mr King questioned Mr James's ability to work in "open access sessions" and compared that to someone not being able to operate after a "good booze up", the tribunal heard.
The judge said: "The discussion involved around Mr King's own concerns that the claimant's work and care for children would be impacted by his mental health situation, and we felt that that concern was trivialised by Mr King's comparison of that with someone attending work suffering with a hangover."
The Venture provides a range of community-based services, primarily for the benefit of children and young people.
