A STOURBRIDGE house parent caring for people suffering from ’challenging behaviour’ disorders is seeking compensation after alleging he was working to the point of exhaustion.

Vladimir Havrda, who is still employed by Ruskin Mill Educational trust at the Glasshouse College in Amblecote, made his claim under the Working Time Regulations Act at Birmingham Employment Tribunal.

He said he came from the Czech Republic with his wife to live in Stourbridge and work at the college as a house parent.

But he has alleged he was not given full information about his duties and was not helped by the management.

As a result, he alleged, he worked up to 100 hours a week and complained his authority was undermined.

The long hours caused him to lose sleep and suffer from depression he said.

“My relationships began to suffer and I had no interest in life. But when I raised several issues, I did not receive answers. “There were no discussions on how to improve the situation.”

Mr Havrda alleged he was victimised and accused of, “stirring things up” for others by complaining about his workload.

The Trust opposed his claims and denied the allegations.

After giving evidence for a whole day, Mr Havrda was told by tribunal chairman Charles Gaskill, that the hearing had run out of time and that it would have to be adjourned to a later date.

The Trust, which has two other colleges at Nailsworth, near Stroud, and Sheffield, has yet to give evidence.