Thanks for setting us straight, Deri! Now you've got me feeling sick 
that a disabled person can use her disability to "beat the system." Ugh! 
Gives the rest of us a bad name.

Kat

Deri James wrote:
> On Tuesday 30 October 2007 23:14:37 kat wrote:
>   
>> Now THIS makes me angry!
>>
>>  From today's Times Online:
>>
>>     
> It makes me angry too, due to the one sided reporting. It is clear from the 
> article that she joined the company in August 2006 (being a "new manager" in 
> Sept 2006), and left the company mid December 2006 (after the Xmas party), so 
> worked a maximum of 4 months (for part of that time she was off sick).
>
> If you Google "megaflops bowling" you'll see that some 10 pin bowling centres 
> offer (as part of a party package):- 
>
> " a Champion certificate for the winner and a Megaflop certificate for the 
> loser"
>
> (Actually there is a photograph of the certificate in the Daily Mail and it is 
> clearly produced by the 10-pin bowling centre, not her colleagues).
>
> She simply "won" the certificate as the worst player. I have been in this 
> situation many times (coming last in "socials" after work!). I am honoured to 
> be the butt of ribaldry in those situations, since it shows they accept me 
> without making an allowance for CP, because if it is anyone else who come 
> last they get teased just as much (if not more so because I get my own back 
> if I manage to avoid last). I'd much rather be teased for losing than people 
> saying "Oh jolly bad luck, you did fantastic considering your disabilities". 
> Oh, and they KNOW I'm going to whup them in the Office Quiz.
>
> It seems like a very good company, her sicko boss was sacked just after she 
> joined for sexual harrassment (of other staff) so it must take allegations 
> seriously, investigate, and act on them. In her case they investigated and 
> found nothing.
>
> I wonder if the company will "risk" employing a disabled manager again?
>
> Cheers
>
> Deri
>
>
>
>   
>> Disabled woman ‘humiliated on a team-building trip’
>>
>> Yepoka Yeebo
>>
>> A disabled woman who was ordered to go ten-pin bowling with colleagues,
>> even though she could not use a bowling ball, was jeered at and given
>> the title “Mega Flops”, a tribunal was told yesterday.
>>
>> Sue Foss, 46, of Westfield, East Sussex, who has accused colleagues of
>> sexual harassment, said constant bullying based on her disability left
>> her depressed and ill.
>>
>> Ms Foss, who suffers from disabilities caused by the drug thalidomide,
>> has three fingers on one hand, and one-inch fingers on the other.
>>
>> Ashford Employment Tribunal heard that Ms Foss, who is claiming damages
>> for alleged sexual harassment, was told to go on the team-building
>> exercise after she started working at Dore, a company in Sidcup that
>> specialises in therapy for children with dyslexia, in September, 2006.
>>
>> Ms Foss, who has two children, said: “I explained that because of my
>> disability I could not do this, but I was told that as a new manager I
>> was expected to be there. I was told to get my tits out to distract the
>> other team. I felt like a child using the ramp and so I bowled without
>> it and acted the fool to try to cover my embarrassment.”
>>
>> She was given a rosette and a certificate, which she showed the court.
>> It read: “This certifies that you have been awarded the title of Mega
>> Flops.”
>>
>> Before a Christmas party she was told to wear a long dress to hide her
>> legs but “make sure the puppies were on display”.
>>
>> “While we were sat round the table I was asked if I was a retired hooker
>> and another colleague asked me ‘how much?’. They then started to try and
>> throw pieces of bread at me. The goal was to get something down my
>> cleavage and the table applauded if he did.
>>
>> “Instead of having fun I was miserable. Yet again, I was the brunt of
>> all the jokes. I got back to the hotel and cried myself to sleep.”
>>
>> Ms Foss, who was earning £30,000 a year as a sales manager, said she was
>> regularly humiliated. “I started off by accepting the jokes with a laugh
>> and a smile, but as they went on they became more and more sexual and
>> linked with my disability.
>>
>> “I became hurt and took them to heart and instead of forgetting about
>> them I took them home with me and thought about them.”
>>
>> Giving evidence on behalf of Dore, Julie Roy, the financial director,
>> said that she had been asked to carry out internal investigations into
>> Ms Foss’s allegations, and could not find any evidence to support her
>> claims.
>>
>> She said that Bob Clark, Ms Foss’s boss, was dismissed in August after
>> it emerged he had been using his company mobile phone to send lewd
>> messages. Ms Roy said he had a number of harassment claims against him.
>>
>> Ms Foss, who also has trouble walking, said that Mr Clark was
>> responsible for planning a rollerskating trip. “I was on sick leave. But
>> I had a call from my boss Bob Clark. He said he was disappointed I would
>> not be going because he said he was looking forward to seeing me trying
>> to roller-skate with my gammy leg and that then I would not be able to
>> get away from him.”
>>
>> She said that she had tried to fit in and laugh off the slurs, but
>> added: “It was more than I could bear. They were aware how hard I found
>> it and how much pride I had to swallow, but they persisted in making a
>> fool out of me. [The Christmas party] was the final straw for me and
>> when I went back to work in January I just felt I couldn’t go on. I was
>> driving to work in Sidcup and I got to a roundabout and just thought ‘I
>> can’t do this’ and about-turned and drove home.”
>>
>> The hearing continues.
>>
>>     

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