Disabled woman to fight employer
Employee claims she was discriminated against
Published:
A SCOTTISH woman plans to take legal action against the national car hire company she worked for at Inverness Airport for allegedly discriminating against her because of her disability.
Amanda Hughes, 49, of Drover's Way, Milton, near Invergordon, suffers from a form of autism, called dyspraxia, which affects her co-ordination.
Ms Hughes, a former showjumper who ran a breeding stables in Wales, served in the Territorial Army and qualified as the fastest woman at the Ultimate Scottish Street Car Championship in Fife last Sunday, claims her disability has never held her back before.
She said that she was not told the job as a customer sales representative with Hertz Car Rental involved touch-typing and was so keen to take it that she got a personal loan for £3,000 to buy a car for work.
She started with Hertz on April 21 this year and claimed she felt “a certain negativity” towards her from the start.
But, she said, the real problem came just two weeks later when her manager said it had been noticed that she only typed with her right hand, and sometimes used just one finger.
She said that, due to her condition, when following complex instructions, she was only able to type with one finger.
“I told him I have autism, and started to explain, but he recoiled from the table with a look of horror on his face, and, in a somewhat raised voice demanded to know why I hadn’t told him before.
“I pointed out that I didn’t think it would be an issue, given the job description I’d been given at the interview. I never wanted it to be a secret.
“I felt he had openly displayed a complete lack of understanding and a discriminatory attitude towards me. I felt totally humiliated, shocked and distressed,” she said.
Ms Hughes has been suspended ever since, and claims she has been unable to get written confirmation from the company about the cause of her suspension.
But she believes it relates to her complaint that she was discriminated against due to her disability, and she now plans to take the car hire firm to court.
“I am still upset, embarrassed and unable to sleep. I don’t think I could face going back there now, but I still have a car loan to pay off and I want to highlight the way I’ve been treated,” said Ms Hughes.
A Hertz spokeswoman said: “Hertz does not comment on individual employee matters.”
