DWP pays £50,000 compensation to JSA claimant after ‘oppressive’ treatment.

A deaf man has received £50,000 from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) after “oppressive” and “discriminatory” treatment. Paul Rimmer, from West Yorkshire, is deaf and his first language is British Sign Language (BSL).

A tribunal found that Jobcentre failed to provide Rimmer with BSL interpreters on several occasions between 2017 and 2023 when he claimed Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA). Rimmer said in his witness statement: “I feel that the Jobcentre and the DWP have not wanted to help me because it is too difficult and too expensive for them.

“I also feel that most DWP staff do not understand the difficulties I face as a profoundly deaf person.” Rimmer was sanctioned in 2017 and had his benefits suspended for two weeks because there was a “lack of evidence” that he was looking for work.

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Rimmer sought a referral to a more intensive assistance program to help him find work, but this was blocked by a Disability Employment Adviser (DEA), who had never met Rimmer. The counselor wrote: “Isn’t Mr. Rimmer’s main handicap his lack of hearing? His actions would support the fact that he is in fact one of the client groups that are specifically described as unsuitable for direct DEA assistance.”

They also claimed that Rimmer had a “health condition that is well managed and is not actually a barrier to employment”. He also accused Rimmer of “indicating that they did not want to engage and who indicated that they did not want to work.” “So I feel he needs firm work training and if the coach needs support to do things like issue instructions and sanction doubts. he must consult with the work coach team leader,” they added.

But the councillor’s “oppressive” and “wrong” behavior was criticized by the tribunal, which found: “It was also behavior that discouraged a vulnerable person’s legitimate complaint. This from someone who is expected to know well the challenges and circumstances of clients with disabilities.

“On this occasion, he indicated the withdrawal of his aid and the denigration of the applicant. This is the type of email or behavior that anyone receiving services from a Jobcentre would fear, that if job coaches or others are challenged there will be retaliation. Even more so for the claimant who continues to frequent and use its job search services.”