Now THIS makes me angry!

 From today's Times Online:


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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