hoddesdon
Well-known member
In the beginning I had been working in the Australian civil service for an extended period. Then the conservatives got in to government and changed the industrial relations laws so as to give the bosses greater prerogatives. Obviously the easiest place to do that is the civil service, of which it is itself the employer.
As a result the troubles began. The list of problems was no more than a list of the symptoms of social phobia. The Personnel section arranged a mediator to try to sort things out in-house. He was a psychologist and was the one who first raised the question of social phobia. As a result I went to see a colleague of his who specializes in it and was diagnosed.
Despite this, nothing changed. I pointed out that what they were doing was illegal under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992. At root they did not accept it as a disability. I was sent to see a government doctor who said they were discriminating. That had an effect for a little while, but then they decided that a psychologist's opinion was not a valid diagnosis. Then I went to a psychiatrist, and the result was the same. The department misrepresented what the diagnosis said, saying that it was not actually a diagnosis (or, in plain English, they lied). That was frustrating, to say the least. Then my general practitioner, or regular doctor, wrote a letter saying that all of this, which had lasted years by this stage, was damaging my health since I had developed Generalized Anxiety Disorder. If that had been ignored, a significant liability may have arisen, so I was sent home and told not to attend until further notice.
Then I sent to a psychiatrist by the department, hoping he would say what they wanted him to say. Far from doing so, he supported my position totally and told them that they were discriminating. His report was also misrepresented significantly. Nonetheless, if I had turned up to work and they had not implemented his recommendations, then I would have had a clear-cut discrimination case. So their solution was to tell me to keep away. That was on full pay, a situation which continued until the end of the saga.
I made a complaint to the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission. As part of that I attended a mediation session. The fact that the complaint was not dismissed at the outset shows that the Commission felt I was in the right. As result I got a good settlement, although with the usual nonsense that it did not represent an admission of liability. The conclusion that a reasonable person would draw is that it is an admission. This outcome established that social phobia is a disability under the Disabiliity Discrimination Act 1992.
I was concurrently running a workers' compensation claim. The department engaged in a number of dirty tricks, but I won the case in court. That involved giving evidence and being cross-examined. This time the result was unequivocally on the public record. As a result the law regarding how social phobia fits in with the workers' compensation legislation consists of my case.
These two successful cases have put me in a significantly better position than I otherwise would have been in. They also established precedents for the future. All of this took a long time. The department did not believe I had the fortitude to follow it through to the end. I ran the race that had been set before me, I kept the faith and I won the battle. I am very glad I did.
As a result the troubles began. The list of problems was no more than a list of the symptoms of social phobia. The Personnel section arranged a mediator to try to sort things out in-house. He was a psychologist and was the one who first raised the question of social phobia. As a result I went to see a colleague of his who specializes in it and was diagnosed.
Despite this, nothing changed. I pointed out that what they were doing was illegal under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992. At root they did not accept it as a disability. I was sent to see a government doctor who said they were discriminating. That had an effect for a little while, but then they decided that a psychologist's opinion was not a valid diagnosis. Then I went to a psychiatrist, and the result was the same. The department misrepresented what the diagnosis said, saying that it was not actually a diagnosis (or, in plain English, they lied). That was frustrating, to say the least. Then my general practitioner, or regular doctor, wrote a letter saying that all of this, which had lasted years by this stage, was damaging my health since I had developed Generalized Anxiety Disorder. If that had been ignored, a significant liability may have arisen, so I was sent home and told not to attend until further notice.
Then I sent to a psychiatrist by the department, hoping he would say what they wanted him to say. Far from doing so, he supported my position totally and told them that they were discriminating. His report was also misrepresented significantly. Nonetheless, if I had turned up to work and they had not implemented his recommendations, then I would have had a clear-cut discrimination case. So their solution was to tell me to keep away. That was on full pay, a situation which continued until the end of the saga.
I made a complaint to the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission. As part of that I attended a mediation session. The fact that the complaint was not dismissed at the outset shows that the Commission felt I was in the right. As result I got a good settlement, although with the usual nonsense that it did not represent an admission of liability. The conclusion that a reasonable person would draw is that it is an admission. This outcome established that social phobia is a disability under the Disabiliity Discrimination Act 1992.
I was concurrently running a workers' compensation claim. The department engaged in a number of dirty tricks, but I won the case in court. That involved giving evidence and being cross-examined. This time the result was unequivocally on the public record. As a result the law regarding how social phobia fits in with the workers' compensation legislation consists of my case.
These two successful cases have put me in a significantly better position than I otherwise would have been in. They also established precedents for the future. All of this took a long time. The department did not believe I had the fortitude to follow it through to the end. I ran the race that had been set before me, I kept the faith and I won the battle. I am very glad I did.
Last edited:
