Woo lly bullies
Worker explains phobia after case win
A DAD with a phobia of cotton wool balls has won thousands of pounds after coworkers stuffed them down his shirt and stuck them to machines he used.
David Burns was awarded £9000 compensation after he was subjected to repeated torment at a factory in Irvine, Ayrshire.
The 40-year-old has been diagnosed as suffering from sidonglobophobia – fear and anxiety when confronted with the fluffy white balls.
The dad of one from Ardrossan was sacked from his job at Plastic Mouldings Ltd after he reacted to the repeated abuse.
Last night, David described his unusual fear and explained the impact it has on his day-to-day life.
He said: “The word is very long and difficult to say but it’s a proper phobia.
“Since I was a kid I’ve hated the feeling of cotton wool, its texture and the sound it makes when you
tear it up. It just gives me the creeps and makes my blood run cold.
“Every time I go to the doctor and they try and use some on me it just gives me the heebie-jeebies.
“It’s very hard to explain it and can be quite embarrassing at times.”
He added: “I can give as good as I take at work but they went too far with it. They put it around my work and right next to me. It wasn’t very nice.”
The employment tribunal in Glasgow heard that workers at the plant stuck cotton balls to machines David used.
The hearing was told he took some of the cotton wool belonging to his workmate, Marcus Wilson, and placed it in his own locker.
Mr Wilson complained to management and said David had threatened to physically assault him, which David dismissed as “banter”.
However, after David returned the cotton wool and apologised, he was sacked by product manager Michael McQueen in November 2017 from the job he’d held for a decade.
He appealed the decision but it was rejected last December by a sales manager, who said the firm operated a zero tolerance policy on theft of another person’s belongings.
David now works with a forestry company.
His lawyer, Michael Briggs of Thompsons Solicitors, said: “We are pleased with the outcome and pleased the judge was prepared to look behind the employer’s checkbox approach to unfair dismissal.”