Michael
Content Warning: These stories are about violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation and may include references to suicide or self-harming behaviours. They may contain graphic descriptions and strong language and may be distressing. Some narratives may be about First Nations people who have passed away. If you need support, please see Contact & support.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Michael started working for a bank.
He soon got a promotion and a contract. Michael said he was excelling at his job and his first manager ‘was very supportive’.
‘I’m quite good at pattern-seeking and that sort of work was really conducive to the way that I think.’
Michael ‘found the work was so easy’ and would be ‘lent out to other teams to help them do stuff’.
Several months into the job, Michael got his ‘final formal autism diagnosis, which had been years in the making’.
‘So when I was hired, of course I couldn’t tell them that I had autism because I didn’t have the paperwork to back me up.’
His manager gave him the day off so he could go to his assessment. ‘Nothing changed for about a month’, but then he got a new team leader.
‘I found out later why they picked [her] was because … they didn’t think someone who was autistic would be capable of being a team leader.’
Michael asked to participate in a future leaders program. Other managers approved it and ‘it was all in motion’, but his team leader said no. She said ‘it’s not the right time’, and it wouldn’t be until Michael ‘sorts this stuff out’.
‘I was like, “Well, I’m never not going to be autistic” … And after that meeting she rarely spoke to me again in person. She would see my messages and not reply to them.’
At one point, Michael had to isolate and informed his work he wasn’t coming in. His team leader told him ‘to go and get tested’ and that his ‘equipment would be dropped off’ to him.
But that same day the recruitment agency called Michael and said his contract had been terminated.
‘I said, “What for?” And, “Well, [your boss] said you’re bad at communicating so you’ve been fired immediately. We’re going to pay you 10 days.”’
Michael said he had ‘no warnings, no exit meetings’. He tried to contact the employer’s disability team but got no reply. His team leader ‘immediately took four weeks leave’ and ‘was unavailable for questions’.
‘Then she didn’t approve the – the payslip. So they … screwed me at every point and it was so difficult.’
Michael made an unfair dismissal complaint. He was awarded some compensation and a written apology from his former employer.
‘Which basically said, “We’ll try not to let it happen to anyone else again.” It’s like, well, that’s a bit – that’s useless.’
Michael is now working with a government agency. His team leader is ‘fantastic’ and Michael has no problems attending NDIS appointments.
‘I later found out that he is dyslexic, and so he gets it … I don’t need to explain anything else to him because he – he knows. He’s got that lived experience.’
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.