Huw
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Huw is a veteran in his 50s.
‘I've suffered brain injuries and spinal and hearing loss and so on from explosions and gunfire, so most of my disabilities have been acquired,’ Huw told the Royal Commission. ‘[As a result] I'm either too blunt or I'm possibly rude. I don't know. [It’s] something in the way I process information or language or communicate.’
Several years ago, Huw worked for an organisation that he thought would provide an ‘inclusive or progressive environment’.
‘The reality doesn’t match with the brochure … They will seek to add you to their corporate social responsibility bragging metrics to say, “Look at the disability, LGBT, whatever, people we employ.” So you end up being a concession.’
Huw said the office he worked in was open plan, but not suitable for people using wheelchairs or who are hearing impaired.
‘If I don’t have inserted earbuds, I can’t hear or I have to try and lip-read … Trying to speak about that in the workplace only invited harassment.’
Huw is immunocompromised and asked to work from home during a COVID-19 outbreak.
‘They wanted us all in the office during COVID because there was no plan, and if you requested to work from home or you requested concessions and you didn’t disclose your medical condition … people were terminated or they were persecuted.’
One day, after Huw sent an email, the organisation fired him. Huw was told only that the ‘tone in the email’ was wrong.
‘I still don’t know what I said or did and I continued to try and get that information.’
Huw said he had ‘one of the best performance reports’ at the organisation, but people misunderstood the nature of his disability.
‘I for all intents and purposes don’t look or sound like a person with disability, but once mental and cognition issues are introduced the default assumption by most people is that you're stupid. I may be many things, but I don't think I'm stupid.’
Huw has since struggled to find another job because when ‘one or more disabilities’ is declared or detected, he’s fired. He says there’s now a ‘black mark’ against his name.
‘I've been persecuted. My privacy has been breached. I've been humiliated. … It’s getting tiring.’
Disclaimer: This is the story of a person who shared their personal experience with the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability through a submission or private session. The names in this story are pseudonyms. The person who shared this experience was not a witness and their account is not evidence. They did not take an oath or affirmation before providing the story. Nothing in this story constitutes a finding of the Royal Commission. Any views expressed are those of the person who shared their experience, not of the Royal Commission.