Store Manager Wins £12k in Disability Discrimination Suit

0:00On March 10th, a Sainsbury store manager has won over 11,852 pounds in compensation after suing his boss for disability discrimination. Darren Cooper was on sick leave for anxiety when the regional director posted on LinkedIn and the company's internal board for International Men's Day on November 19th, 2022. The post celebrated mill leaders with photos of other managers but left out Cooper who felt humiliated by the exclusion. Cooper had joined Sainsbury's as a teen in 1993, rising to manage the Pontiprit store in South Wales by 2010. He went on leave in June 2022, asking not to be contacted as he recovered. The director later explained, he skipped Cooper to avoid overwhelming him with notifications and didn't have a photo to share. Friends, colleagues, and LinkedIn contacts bombarded Cooper with questions, wondering if he had quit. He described feeling excluded, violated, and full of angst, especially since the post stayed online for 42 days without an apology.

1:02The employment tribunal in Cardiff ruled the omission was unwanted conduct tied to his disability, upholding claims of harassment and unfavorable. Treatment. They awarded 7,500 pounds for injury to feelings, 2,500 pounds for personal injury, and the rest in. Interest, noting sympathy for the director, but validating Cooper's distress. While Cooper was later dismissed and pursued further claims, this ruling highlights how even well intention actions can cross into discrimination during sensitive health periods.