Informal complaint upheld - what can I do

[Rosey44]

Hello my son has aspergers. He works with vulnerable adults as a maintenance engineer, so comes into contact with them quite frequently.
Out of the blue - (he still does not understand the process) a list of 7 inappropriate comments he has made have been upheld and he has received an informal warning. The comments made are not in dispute but I believe as a vulnerable adult his rights were not explained to him and the issues should have been addressed in a work based report /appraisal first. He should have had a work based mentor coordinator to explain the process. He was told not to worry there was nothing in it. It feels like he is being got at. What can I do know to protect his rights, he is understandably upset as he works hard and loves it there. It was not investigated why he made those comments as this should have played a significant part in the investigation. The thing that gets to me is that people with aspergers DO MAKE INAPPROPIATE COMMENTS AND THEY KNOW THIS. Does he have any rights under disability laws.

If it was not investigated, and he was not given the opportunity to state his case (with support from a colleague / union rep) then the company have not followed the proper process. Ask for a copy of their disciplinary policy and procedure. Compare what should have happened with what actually happened.
Informal warnings (verbal warning, presumably) usually only stay on file for 6 months though, so all is not lost.

As to disability laws - that depends very much on what he said, how it was handled and so on. But yes, it is possible that he is protected under the Equality Act.

Also have a conversation with him about what he said and try to explain it may have upset others.

Thank you to those who replied.
Can I ask - is he not protected if he did not have complete awareness and understanding of the incident and procedure that followed.
He was not made aware of the procedures end result and went in without fully understanding the implications.
Though you say it will only be on file for 6 months.
Do extenuating circumstances not come to the fore.
Can this complaint not be removed if he appeals.
To Mythical - you are right and that is another point - he should have had this conversation with his manager/employer before it got this far.
Believe me he will be making inappropriate comments all his life, it isn't done on purpose, he just cannot understand sometimes when they are unsuitable.

Yes if he appeals and his appeal is upheld, the warning will be discarded. What you need to do is read the disciplinary policy alongside the equal opportunities policy - they should have both.

OP you are being given advice here as if it were a formal warning but you say it was an informal warning. Which is it? Does he have a letter confirming the warning as being a formal written/verbal warning following a disciplinary procedure? What does the letter say?

The letter he received has a title of informal complaint.
It says very briefly they are disappointed that it has been found that the complaints have been upheld and something about needing retraining of some sort.
I have been told that 2 informal complaints and he could be fired, is this true?
I do not understand the difference between informal and formal, they feel the same.
What I definitely dispute is any vicious or deliberate intent on his part. I don't believe it was investigated fully and will be asking for copy of the complaint and the outcome to see exactly what happened.
Can anyone tell me if I just ask them directly if they have a union rep or do I quietly find one to represent him in in this matter and for any future problems.

Thank you confused for your input and all others it has been helpful. My son is very upset and cannot sleep. I cannot take him to a class to "fix it"
that is never going to happen.
All that he learned is he cannot trust anyone.

"I have been told that 2 informal complaints and he could be fired, is this true?"

Told by who? By your son/someone at his work? That's certainly not anything "official".

It doesn't sound like he's been given a formal disciplinary warning. To dismiss someone for conduct reasons it would usually be necessary to have gone through a formal process a couple of time first, and given formal warnings, with a right of representation and right of appeal etc

The exceptions would be if the incident was so serious as to constitute gross misconduct, or if the employee had less than two years service.