A ONE-armed cleaner has been swept aside by council bosses — despite being one of the best in Britain.
Daniel Jeffery, 47, lost his right arm in a motorcycle smash in 1999 and has amazed people with his sparkling cleans with just one arm.
Cleaner Daniel Jeffery has been sacked by council bosses despite being one of the best in Britain[/caption]
Daniel lost his right arm in a motorcycle smash in 1999 and has amazed people with his sparkling cleans with just one arm[/caption]
But despite developing a string of amazing cleaning techniques, managers said his work was sub-standard and fired him from his contract.
The married dad-of-three has now demanded an apology, claiming he was nicknamed “Bandit” — as in one-armed bandit — by a manager at Basildon Borough Council in Essex.
He rubbished claims his cleans were no good — pointing out he came third in a national contest of 4,000 cleaners despite his disability.
Daniel, of Southend, said: “This is just completely unfair. There have never been any complaints like this about my work in the past.
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“It’s just one woman who is prejudiced because I only have one arm.
“There had never been any problems with my cleans until she intentionally failed one inspection.
“You ask anyone — because I only have one arm I have to work harder to get my cleans to the right standard. I leave any room sparkling. She just took a dislike to me.
“She started calling me Bandit and was even introducing me to people that way — and soon everyone was calling me that.
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“I thought it was meant to be affectionate at first — but she was clearly taking the p***.”
Daniel — a cleaner with 20 years’ experience — was working for contractor Pinnacle Group, cleaning council offices and public buildings.
During the pandemic he did virus deep-cleans for eight-hour shifts, on £9.50 an hour.
He came third in the cleaning industry awards competition for Pinnacle’s Rising Star gong in 2000, despite losing his arm just the year before.
He says council bosses wrote a letter to Pinnacle demanding he was taken off the job.
The company has refused to sack him, instead finding him new work in London.
Daniel worked as a shop window-fitter before his motorbike slipped on the A13 and crashed.
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His right arm had to be amputated and metal bars inserted in his legs.
Basildon Council is investigating. Pinnacle Group declined to comment.
Daniel has demanded an apology, claiming he was nicknamed ‘Bandit’ — as in one-armed bandit — by a manager at Basildon Borough Council[/caption]
Daniel said: ‘This is just completely unfair. There have never been any complaints like this about my work in the past’[/caption]
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