A MEMBER of Camden’s library team with an auto-immune condition has been found to have been treated unfairly by the Town Hall – after staff appeared to ask him to transfer to a branch being used as a Covid test centre.

Dag Tadesse, who had worked at Pancras Square Library as a customer services officer, was asked to move to the Camden Town Library in March 2021, after he had been shielding while working at home. He is also profoundly deaf, has tinnitus and balance issues.

But court documents show he was asked to move to the Crowndale Road space and help with a testing centre, where people could get on-the-spot lateral flow tests and results within an hour. He was asked to assist the testing service and then help colleagues return the library to its original layout.

This request was described as “lament­able” by employment judge Natasha Joffe, who presided over a hearing in June and July – due to Mr Tadesse being “clinically extremely vulnerable”.

The customer services assistant had previously launched formal com­plaints against colleagues and managers who he felt had discriminated against him because of his illnesses and his race. On April 1, days before he was due to return to work, Mr Tadesse explained his concerns in an email to staff.

“The library that you are proposed to send me to is a Covid test centre [at] which I could be exposed to potential Covid carriers,” he said. He added that the “unwise” and “endangering” decision had been taken without any discussion with him or risk assessment.

This had caused him extreme pressure and stress. He later launched another grievance against two senior staff. The library worker was eventually offered a post at West Hampstead Library, and he still works for Camden Council.

Ms Joffe rejected a number of complaints, including over race but said that Camden Council did not make “reasonable adjustments” over his disability according to the Equality Act, by asking him to move to the Covid testing centre.

She said: “It seemed to us that there was a disadvantage to the claimant which was not one which would have been experienced in the same way or to the same degree as an employee who did not have a disability which led that person to be in the shielding category.

“That was the very significant anxiety experienced by the claimant in facing a proposal that he return to work at a Covid test centre, a concern which the respondent did not act quickly and effectively to alleviate and which we accept was a very significant disadvantage to the claimant. “[Mr Tadesse] reasonably regarded the proposal to move him to Camden as a detriment … we upheld this claim.”

A Camden Council spokesperson said: “We accept that we should have made the situation clearer to Mr Tadesse – that he did not have to move to Camden Town Library and that there were other options available to him.

“Due to this there was a period of about three weeks’ uncertainty for him, and we would like to apologise to him for any distress caused as a result. Mr Tadesse did not move to Camden Town Library at any stage.”

A remedy hearing was due to be scheduled.