A community interest company that worked with deaf people has been ordered to pay nearly £30,000 to a former member of staff who was discriminated against.
The employment tribunal found that Keith Excell, a former finance officer at Deaf Positives Action CIC, was subjected to disability discrimination and was dismissed in breach of contract.
Tribunal documents show the CIC, which went into liquidation in 2020, must pay Excell £27,176 to cover damages, loss of earnings and lost redundancy entitlement.
The judge ordered the award to be reduced by about £2,800 in recognition that Excell had already received some payments from his former employer.
Deaf Positives Action was founded in 2011 and provided advocacy and support for deaf people until it went into liquidation.
In latest documents filed with Companies House, the liquidator said there were two ongoing cases before the employment tribunal.
“In 2018, the company became unstable due to a dispute with one of the company’s support workers,” it said. “The dispute led to great difficulties in running the company and [its] eventual liquidation.”
The liquidator’s report said it had been unable to identify any assets at the CIC for redistribution and said the conclusion of the tribunal cases “is the only matter which is now preventing this case from being closed”.