A UK employment tribunal has awarded a worker with Tourette syndrome £9,710 after ruling that confectionery manufacturer JF Renshaw discriminated against him when it rejected his job application in June 2023. The award of £8,000 plus interest followed the tribunal's finding that the company "treated him less favourably than a hypothetical person without his disability".

The decision lands on an employer with a documented paper trail of failure. Gee, who also has ADHD, obsessive-compulsive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder, had disclosed his conditions to the company after an occupational health referral in October 2020. An occupational health team had even proposed specific adjustments. The company dismissed him with one week's notice on the same day those recommendations went out in a letter.

What happened before the tribunal?

Gee worked for JF Renshaw on a temporary or casual basis. The tribunal heard his health conditions had a "substantial and long-term impact" on his day-to-day life. Two incidents shaped events. In September 2020, he swore at an employee he felt was not pulling her weight. In November 2020, he called another colleague a "lazy bastard".

The company treated the second outburst as something arising from his disability and arranged an occupational health meeting. That meeting produced concrete recommendations:

• Clear instructions on workplace expectations
• The ability to report practices he perceived as incorrect
• "Time-out" sessions so he could remove himself from situations where he felt overwhelmed

The occupational health team sent its letter with these adjustments in November 2020. On the same day, the head of manufacturing sent Gee a separate letter terminating his employment with one week's notice. The stated reason: the company needed to release some temporary staff. Two employees lost their jobs — Gee and another worker with a poor absence record.

Gee reapplied for a job in June 2021 and again in June 2023. The company rejected him both times.

Which claims survived, and why?

Timing determined the scope of the ruling. Gee filed his claim on 13 November 2023, so the tribunal held that claims over his dismissal and the 2021 rejection were out of time. Only the June 2023 job rejection proceeded to a finding of direct disability discrimination.

By then, JF Renshaw had entered administration and been acquired by British Bakels in 2023.

How did the tribunal assess damages?

Employment Judge Callum Cowx grounded the remedy in the documented psychological harm. "He felt upset, anguish and anger, to such a degree that he self-harmed by biting, burning or stabbing the back of his hand," Cowx said of the rejection's impact.

The judge went further on the lasting effect. "The job rejection in 2023 compounded his sense of injustice which is part of his condition and increased his sense of worthlessness and that society would not recognise the nature of his condition and make allowances for him," he said.

Gee now works for himself, but the judge noted he "feels he will always be judged and misunderstood by fellow employees" and that the discrimination contributed to this. "The claimant is still suffering the effects of the discrimination over two-and-a-half years later," Cowx concluded.

What does this mean for employers?

The case exposes a recurring risk pattern for HR teams. An employer can commission occupational health advice, receive workable adjustments, and then act against the employee in the same breath — a sequencing the tribunal did not view favourably. It also shows that rejection decisions for former employees with known disabilities carry direct discrimination exposure long after the original termination.

The £9,710 figure is modest by tribunal standards, but the reasoning is not. Companies that dismiss workers after disability-related incidents, then refuse to rehire them, should expect tribunals to scrutinise whether the disability itself drove both decisions — and whether documented adjustment recommendations were ever actually implemented.