Deaf man awarded £50,000 damages after mistreatment by jobcentre officials

Tribunal rules Paul Rimmer was subject to ‘character assassination’ and was not given specialist help

A profoundly deaf man has been awarded £50,000 damages after a judge ruled he was subjected to a “character assassination” by hostile jobcentre officials, who refused to provide him with specialist help to find work.

Paul Rimmer, who communicates primarily though British Sign Language (BSL) and has limited reading and writing skills, suffered from “oppressive” and unlawful behaviour at the hands of Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) staff, Judge Joanna Wade found at the employment tribunal.