AGXStarseed
Well-Known Member
(Not written by me. Edited to remove the word "Suffered")
A man's claim that his former employer failed to provide a safe workplace for him because he was asked to train a worker with Asperger's syndrome has been quashed by the Employment Relations Authority (ERA).
Daniel O'Flaherty was a car groomsman at Steve's Grooming, an inhouse grooming service for a car dealership owned by Landseer Motor Investment, which traded as Andrew Simms Newmarket.
Service manager Gary Keatley promoted O'Flaherty to a role with more pay and greater responsibility for training other employees and supervising them.
Part of his new role involved training a worker who has Asperger's, who has not been named.
Dealer principal Matthew Wales said Andrew Simms employed groomers from a variety of backgrounds, including reformed prisoners re-entering the work force, individuals with learning disabilities, or with autism or Asperger's.
Wales said these employees had not presented any problems in the workforce before.
Prior to employing the new hire, Keatley met with O'Flaherty and the other staff to explain about Asperger's and what would be involved in training him.
Keatley also said workers could approach him with any issues that could arise.
O'Flaherty told the authority he had no experience of Asperger's and did not really know what it was when he had agreed to train the man. He did not mention this to his employer.
When O'Flaherty raised concerns about the new employee's performance, he did not mention the toll it had taken on his health, nor did he tell his employer about previously having had a mental burnout.
In the months following August 2016, O'Flaherty began taking short breaks of annual and sick leave to cope with his exhaustion from training the new employee.
It wasn't until September 2016 that O'Flaherty told his employer what was causing his exhaustion.
On September 19, 2016 when O'Flaherty returned from sick leave he finally told his employer he could no longer continue working with the new worker, who was very slow. He said he found him to be extremely frustrating and mentally exhausting.
Over a week later, his bosses had a meeting with O'Flaherty and the other team members who also voiced their frustration with the man.
After the meeting, the new employee was dismissed from his trial period.
O'Flaherty said he had felt relieved at the news, although he was sorry for the man. After the termination of the new employee's employment, O'Flaherty left the workplace as he felt mentally and physically unable to carry on with his duties.
Following this, O'Flaherty was referred to a psychiatrist, who advised him to return to work on a part-time basis.
But O'Flaherty sent Andrew Simms a personal grievance letter dated December 9, 2016 that said having to train the man with Asperger's had resulted in his poor health and he sought compensation for psychiatric fees.
O'Flaherty said that as he was still suffering from stress and depression due to his experience and resigned in February 2017, even though the last day he went to work was in November 2016.
O'Flaherty claimed he had been dismissed by unjustifiable disadvantage, although the ERA claimed as an employee the onus was on him to tell his employer beforehand what had caused him stress.
The ERA found no evidence that O'Flaherty informed Andrew Simms prior to September 2016 that his experiences with the new worker were affecting his mental health.
"Employees also have a responsibility towards ensuring their safety in the workplace," the ERA said.
The authority said when Andrew Simms became aware of the new employee's performance, it acted immediately.
Source: Worker's complaint about training Asperger's colleague quashed
A man's claim that his former employer failed to provide a safe workplace for him because he was asked to train a worker with Asperger's syndrome has been quashed by the Employment Relations Authority (ERA).
Daniel O'Flaherty was a car groomsman at Steve's Grooming, an inhouse grooming service for a car dealership owned by Landseer Motor Investment, which traded as Andrew Simms Newmarket.
Service manager Gary Keatley promoted O'Flaherty to a role with more pay and greater responsibility for training other employees and supervising them.
Part of his new role involved training a worker who has Asperger's, who has not been named.
Dealer principal Matthew Wales said Andrew Simms employed groomers from a variety of backgrounds, including reformed prisoners re-entering the work force, individuals with learning disabilities, or with autism or Asperger's.
Wales said these employees had not presented any problems in the workforce before.
Prior to employing the new hire, Keatley met with O'Flaherty and the other staff to explain about Asperger's and what would be involved in training him.
Keatley also said workers could approach him with any issues that could arise.
O'Flaherty told the authority he had no experience of Asperger's and did not really know what it was when he had agreed to train the man. He did not mention this to his employer.
When O'Flaherty raised concerns about the new employee's performance, he did not mention the toll it had taken on his health, nor did he tell his employer about previously having had a mental burnout.
In the months following August 2016, O'Flaherty began taking short breaks of annual and sick leave to cope with his exhaustion from training the new employee.
It wasn't until September 2016 that O'Flaherty told his employer what was causing his exhaustion.
On September 19, 2016 when O'Flaherty returned from sick leave he finally told his employer he could no longer continue working with the new worker, who was very slow. He said he found him to be extremely frustrating and mentally exhausting.
Over a week later, his bosses had a meeting with O'Flaherty and the other team members who also voiced their frustration with the man.
After the meeting, the new employee was dismissed from his trial period.
O'Flaherty said he had felt relieved at the news, although he was sorry for the man. After the termination of the new employee's employment, O'Flaherty left the workplace as he felt mentally and physically unable to carry on with his duties.
Following this, O'Flaherty was referred to a psychiatrist, who advised him to return to work on a part-time basis.
But O'Flaherty sent Andrew Simms a personal grievance letter dated December 9, 2016 that said having to train the man with Asperger's had resulted in his poor health and he sought compensation for psychiatric fees.
O'Flaherty said that as he was still suffering from stress and depression due to his experience and resigned in February 2017, even though the last day he went to work was in November 2016.
O'Flaherty claimed he had been dismissed by unjustifiable disadvantage, although the ERA claimed as an employee the onus was on him to tell his employer beforehand what had caused him stress.
The ERA found no evidence that O'Flaherty informed Andrew Simms prior to September 2016 that his experiences with the new worker were affecting his mental health.
"Employees also have a responsibility towards ensuring their safety in the workplace," the ERA said.
The authority said when Andrew Simms became aware of the new employee's performance, it acted immediately.
Source: Worker's complaint about training Asperger's colleague quashed
