THE PSNI has reviewed its procedures for recruiting people with disabilities after a group interview worsened the `condition and self-confidence' of an applicant.
The service and recruitment company Honeycomb Jobs Ltd each paid £6,250 to the man - who has autism, ADHD and Tourette's syndrome - after settling his disability discrimination case without admission of liability.
Having "worked hard to overcome my educational difficulties" and qualified to foundation degree level, he applied for an administrative post with the PSNI, disclosing on his application form that he had autism.
"I avoided looking for a job until recently, when I took up a voluntary post with a local charity," he said.
"I was able to do a good job there with some allowances for my disabilities and it gave me the confidence to apply for the PSNI role."
The final stage of the recruitment process was a group interview and report.
`Reasonable adjustments' allowing him to show he met relevant job competencies were not made, despite "several phone calls" from the man and his father explaining, due to his autism, he would have severe difficulties effectively communicating within the group interview.
Instead he was given extra time to read the pre-briefing - which he did not need - and an extra 10 minutes and word processor to write up the discussion.
He was unable to actively participate due to his disability, despite scoring well in all other areas.
"The result of this experience unfortunately has taken its toll. It has had an impact on my condition, self-confidence, and my trust in employers that they can act fairly with the disabled community," he said.
He said employers should "listen" to people with disabilities and give them "appropriate support to allow them to compete fairly with others without a disability and ultimately the possibility of achieving a good job".
Mary Kitson of the Equality Commission which supported his case welcomed the PSNI and Honeycomb Jobs Ltd's agreed review.
"Employers must plan for the possibility of applicants with disabilities at every stage of a recruitment exercise. This includes exercises such as this one with a large number of posts to be filled and a generic job description.
"The Disability Discrimination Act puts a duty on employers to remove or change aspects of selection processes that can act as barriers to disabled applicants.
"... Only 37.5 per cent of disabled people in Northern Ireland are in employment, the lowest rate of any region in the UK, and all employers have a role to play in improving this statistic.
"People with disabilities are entitled to compete for jobs and financial independence alongside all other candidates and it is the employer’s responsibility to make sure this happens fairly."
The PSNI said it is "an equal opportunities employer" and "will continue to liaise with the Equality Commission NI and our external recruitment agencies to ensure that our recruitment procedures and assessment methodologies are fair and accessible to all".
"We are committed to being representative of the community we serve."
