Disabled student wins employment tribunal against Abercrombie & Fitch.
Free admission to UK WIDE Cinema's (For carers)
Radar Key, (This is for disabled people who have urgencies to use the toilet often.)
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Disabled student wins employment tribunal against Abercrombie & Fitch.
Free admission to UK WIDE Cinema's (For carers)
Radar Key, (This is for disabled people who have urgencies to use the toilet often.)
14th August 2009.
A law student who claimed she was forced
to work in the stockroom of an Abercrombie & Fitch store because her prosthetic
arm did not fit its strict "look" policy has won her case for wrongful dismissal
Riam Dean, 22, claimed she was forced off the sales floor of the clothing chain's
flagship London shop in Savile Row because of a "blatant policy of eugenics".
Miss Dean, who was born with her left forearm missing, claimed disability discrimination
after being rebuked by one of her managers for wearing a cardigan to cover her elbow
last year.
She said the episode made her "question her worth as a human being" and claimed
that she was effectively "bullied" out of her job when she resigned in July last
year.
A central London employment tribunal ruled today that she had been wrongfully dismissed
and unlawfully harassed.
The US firm was ordered to pay Miss Dean more than £9,000 for injury to her feelings,
loss of earnings and damages, however the panel did not uphold her claim for disability
discrimination.
Marketing experts described the case as "one of the biggest gaffes" by a fashion
retailer, and warned it could damage the brand.
Speaking after the hearing, Miss Dean's mother, May, said her daughter was "very,
very pleased" at the outcome.
She said: "It has been a long legal battle against Abercrombie but all her efforts
have finally paid off."
Miss Dean, who recently completed her studies at Queen Mary University in east London,
began working at the store on June 11 last year.
Initially, she was given permission to wear a plain white cardigan to cover the
join between her skin and her prosthetic arm.
However, the panel heard that while working in the men's department on July 4, Maria
Barbera, one of her managers, told her: "I can't have you on the shop floor as you
are breaking the look policy, immediately go to the stockroom."
Miss Dean said: "She used the 'look policy' as an excuse to hide me away in the
stockroom.
"My entire perception of my own my self worth was shattered. I pride myself on being
quite a confident girl but I had never experienced prejudice like that before and
it made me feel utterly worthless."
Miss Dean, from Greenford, Middlesex resigned the same day, having worked just five
shifts.
The tribunal was given details of the company's strictly enforced dress policy,
which includes rules on the length of women's fingernails and even regulations on
what colour of toenail polish is acceptable.
In its ruling, the panel said: "The respondent's acts of unlawful disability discrimination
arose not from treating the claimant differently from non-disabled associates (in
rigidly enforcing the look policy), but in treating her the same in circumstances
where it should have made an adjustment."
Mark Borkowski, a leading brand and celebrity publicist, said: "This is probably
one of the biggest gaffes by a fashion retailer – it is a disgrace and a PR nightmare.
"When people are confronted daily with pictures of heroic soldiers returning from
Afghanistan with missing limbs, people will look at this case and think that Abercrombie
& Fitch is incredibly shallow.
"It is potentially very damaging to them and they will need to work hard to restore
some depth to their brand if they are to maintain their position in today's competitive
environment."
Jason Nisse, a PR executive from the firm Fishburn Hedges, added: "Abercrombie &
Fitch should not confuse creating an aspirational image with being elitist.
"They need to immediately reassure customers that this is a brand for everyone,
not for just some ideal that they have of what is a beautiful person, or they will
rightly become the poster boys for everything that is wrong with the fashion industry."
Staff working in the most visible roles at the store are known as "models" and some
male workers parade around the shop bare-chested wearing low-slung jeans. "Visual
associates" are employed to check that workers are dressed in line with a centrally
defined "key look" which changes each season.
In the US, Abercrombie & Fitch recently settled a £25 million lawsuit brought by
nine former employees, all from ethnic minority groups.
They had said that they were forced to work in stockrooms or on night shifts because
they did not fit the Abercrombie "look".
Abercrombie & Fitch did not comment.
source.
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10th August 2009.
A partnership aimed at giving disabled
people better access to justice will see Scotland's legal sector team up with disability
organisations.
The scheme, coordinated by Capability Scotland, will allow disabled people to voice
their concerns to police officers, solicitors and policy makers.
It comes after a survey suggested 40% of people with disabilities felt excluded
from the justice system.
The poll also indicated 38% had been a victim of crime.
The Scottish Government, the Scottish Prison Service and the Association of Chief
Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS) are among the bodies involved.
Richard Hamer, director of External Affairs at Capability Scotland, said: "This
collaborative approach is an excellent opportunity to bring together all those with
an interest in ensuring that the justice system is accessible to all.
"We hope this will be the beginning of a longstanding relationship which will draw
on disabled people's skill and experience to improve the Scottish justice sector
for all."
'Increase confidence'
A survey of 175 people last month, found 42% of those with disabilities had direct
experience of the justice system. The most likely reason was being a victim of crime.
Nearly 10% said they had been involved in a tribunal such as employment, mental
health or additional support needs.
Solicitor General Frank Mullholland QC, speaking on behalf of the Crown Office and
Procurator Fiscal Service, said: "This ambitious and exciting new programme will
help us to identify, develop and coordinate measures to improve access to justice
for all disabled people.
"We will continue to work hard to increase the confidence of disabled people in
the criminal justice system, and to encourage and facilitate disabled victims of
crime to come forward."
The scheme will conclude with a national conference, attended by Justice Secretary
Kenny MacAskill, in November.
Source.
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People who care for someone who has Disabled Living Allowance can gain entrance to the UK wide Cinemas for Free? Interested?
What you have to do is apply for a card from the Cinema Exhibitors' Association which costs £5.50 for 3 years. The person with the DLA has to apply and send proof (just a copy of their entitlement) along with an up to date photograph to the CEA
Once they have received their card you simply take it and show it when paying for your seats at any cinema in the UK and this enables the carer in to the show free of charge.
CEACARD Terms & Conditions.
(PDF Format).
CEACARD Application Form.
(PDF Format).
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National Key Scheme.
The National Key Scheme, sometimes known
as the
RADAR
Scheme,
was developed because some public toilets
designed for disabled people had to be locked to prevent damage and misuse. This
has been countered by their being locked separately from other toilets. The NKS
aims to provide disabled key holders with independent access to the toilets provided
for them and increase the likelihood of the facilities being in a useable state.
If accessible toilets for disabled people do have to be locked, providers are asked
to join the NKS, which involves fitting standard locks to their toilets and making
keys available to disabled people. Over 400 local authorities in all parts of the
country have now adopted the scheme.
In addition to public conveniences, toilets for disabled people provided by a wide
range of other public, voluntary and commercial organisations have been fitted with
the NKS lock. So it can now be found in shopping centres, country parks, railway
and bus stations, bars, motorway service areas and sports venues. Around 7000 toilets
are now fitted with the lock and can be found from Shetland to Jersey and Derry
to Dover.
Within the scheme RADAR:
* supplies NKS keys to disabled people who cannot, or have difficulty, getting one
locally,
* maintains a list of toilets fitted with the NKS lock and
* provides general information about the scheme to individuals and providers.
RADAR does not advocate the general fitting of locks to all toilets for disabled
people but does urge that the NKS is used where a lock is required.
Please note – comments or complaints about the condition of any individual toilet
fitted with the NKS lock should be made to the local authority or other organisation
responsible for it.
If you have proof of your disability you can normally obtain these keys from Information centres in towns & cities or alternatively click here to buy them online.
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6th June 2009.
Innovative devices designed to give
disabled people greater freedom and independence are on display at the Mobility
Road show at Kemble Airfield in Gloucestershire.
They include technology that delivers a wheelchair from the boot of a vehicle to
the driver's door in 25 seconds, a vehicle conversion that allows a wheelchair user
to drive from their chair or swap over to the front passenger's side, a simulator
to test adaptations.
Express delivery.
The Abi-Loader device (seen above) -
from Hertfordshire-based Steering Developments - can be used to deliver a folding
or fixed-frame wheelchair to the driver's or passenger's door from the rear of the
vehicle.
The company says the Abi-Loader is designed
to be used with estate cars, MPVs and some hatchbacks.
"What we like about it is that if you
can open your door, you can load or unload your wheelchair because it takes up no
more width at the side of the vehicle than that," said Neale Boulton of Steering
Developments.
The wheelchair can be released from or attached to the Abi-Loader using a simple
locking mechanism.
People wishing to use it will need to have sufficient upper-body strength to operate
the locking catch and - if using a folding wheelchair - be able to unfold it and
transfer in and out of their vehicle.
At just under £6,000 it costs almost twice as much as an automated "top-loader"
which stores a wheelchair on the roof of the car.
But the company says not having a box on the roof will improve fuel economy.
The Abi-Loader has not yet been approved by Motability but Steering Developments
expects that it soon will be.
The device is similar to an Israeli product already on the market which is controlled
by a computer.
Mr Boulton says the Abi-Loader has "less to go wrong".
*****
Take A Break.
A wheelchair conversion of the Fiat
Qubo that allows people to choose whether to drive from their wheelchair or to sit
in the front passenger position was shown off by Sirus Automotive.
The Switch has a completely flat floor pan and a quick release system on the front
seat so that a disabled person can easily take a break and allow someone accompanying
them to do the driving.
The Qubo's six-speed automatic gearbox is operated by push buttons, the ramp and
tailgate are automated and the handbrake is operated electronically.
Sirus says that - at just under £22,000 - the Switch is considerably cheaper than
other "drive from wheelchair" vehicles.
On the same stand at the show was the U-Can, a VW Caddy conversion that allows a
wheelchair passenger to sit "up front" with the driver.
Again, access is from the rear of the vehicle using a fully automated ramp and tailgate.
*****
Virtual Reality.
Knowing just which adaptation is going
to be suitable for a driver's particular impairment can now be determined using
a new driving simulator.
Autoadapt's Driver Test Station simulates the driving environment and measures a
person's strength, mobility and reaction time.
The simulator can be equipped with various adaptations to find out whether or not
they are suitable.
It can be used from its own swivel car seat or from a wheelchair
Autoadapt says that the simulator can be used for assessments at mobility centres
and as an educational tool in the rehabilitation process.
By Geoff Adams-Spink
Age & disability correspondent, BBC News
Source.
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This webpage was last updated on 27/11/2009 14:42:03