BRADFORD Council has apologised to a disabled man after he was told “don't start playing the disability card” over the phone.

The man, who has lived with hearing loss since he was a young child, issued a complaint after a distressing phone call with a Council employee in March.

An investigation was launched by Bradford Council into reports that the call handler “became hostile, spoke quickly and shouted”.

The complainant said he asked the person to slow down, explaining that he has a hearing loss, “however he continued to speak over and said ‘Oh don’t start playing the disability card’.”

The matter was investigated by a stage 2 complaint investigator, who found the team who would normally pick up the phone was busy in a meeting.

Bradford Telegraph and Argus:

The call handler, who was ‘hot-desking’ in the department on the day, spoke to the man for 40 minutes.

After raising the complaint, the man received a phone call from the employee’s manager to discuss the issues raised. 

The report said the man remained “dissatisfied with how the matter was handled by the manager”.

In the report, the investigator said: “It is accepted that [redacted] should not have used the words he did in relation to the information you shared. It is also accepted that [redacted] should not have picked up calls when he is working...and should not be engaging in conversations about that organisation. [Redacted] sincerely apologises for the words that were used.

“Whilst I recognise [redacted] has reflected on the event and accepts he should have addressed the matter differently, I am conscious of the impact, stress and time taken to raise your complaint.

"I hope you can accept our apology in how your call was handled by our Council employee.”

The report agreed recommendations with the service as a complaint outcome. The man will not take calls from the public for the department during work and was asked to complete Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion training.

The investigator also spoke with the call handler’s manager regarding complaints handling procedures and extended the offer of complaint training.

But the complainant believes stronger action should be taken against the call handler. 

He said the call handler had breached the Equality Act 2010 and Council’s Code of Conduct.

“He should have been fired,” the complainant, who has sensorineural hearing loss, said.

“They claim to be all about equalities and robust responses to any unlawful behaviour and they’ve done nothing.

“I didn’t expect it, I was extremely upset.

“The legislation has been in place since 2010. Everybody knows you don’t say that to people with disabilities. It’s a disability that’s restricted my social life. It’s hard to come to terms with that. When you say to somebody this is difficult for me, you’re expecting reasonable adjustments. 

“I’d missed the beginning of the word and the end of the word and if somebody speaks really quickly and there’s noise around I can’t understand it.”

He opened up about the difficult reality of day-to-day life for people living with hearing loss.

“People with hearing loss, we’re isolated,” he said. 

“People make assumptions because I’ve got hearing aids in that my hearing is the same as the standard non disabled person - it’s not.

“You don’t get a lot of understanding.

“My hearing loss is not just about sound, it’s the nature of the sound and the pitches. If I go into a place, say a doctors surgery, and I’m in a waiting area and somebody walks in with a pram I can hear the wheels, I can hear people typing on their phone, I can hear the receptionist on the phone, then the baby starts crying. It’s too much for me. 

“My brain can’t comprehend all the sounds at once.

“I can feel the noise down my face and down one side of my body. It’s horrible. It means I don’t really go anywhere. 

“There’s a lot of things that are frustrating.”

In response to this story, a Council spokesperson said: "The Council does not condone comments or the conduct of staff which go against our Equality Duty and Code of Conduct.

“We take all complaints seriously and this issue was investigated thoroughly. We have apologised to the individual affected and taken appropriate action."