The Employment Appeal Tribunal has confirmed that employers do not have a duty to make reasonable adjustments where an individual, typically a carer, has an association with a disabled person.
In Ring v Dansk Almennyttigt Boligselskab; HK Danmark, acting on behalf of Werge v Dansk Arbejdsgiverforening, acting on behalf of Pro Display A/S [2013] IRLR 571 ECJ, the ECJ defined "disability", and held that reducing a disabled person's working hours may be a reasonable adjustment to enable him or her to continue working.
David Malamatenios is a partner, and Linda Quinn, Krishna Santra, Sandra Martins and Melissa Powys-Rodrigues are solicitors at Colman Coyle Solicitors. They round up the latest rulings.
Joe Beeston, Kate Edminson, Rosie Kight and David Rintoul are associate solicitors and Iain Naylor is a trainee solicitor at Addleshaw Goddard LLP. They round up the latest rulings. They round up the latest rulings.
This case is an example of an employer committing associative disability discrimination. The employer discriminated against an employee who required time off because her husband was seriously ill.
In this case, the claimant unsuccessfully argued that he was forced to resign because of his association with a disabled person, namely his father who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's.
In DLA Piper's case of the week, Foster v Cardiff University, the Employment Appeal Tribunal considered the issue of reasonable adjustments for an academic with chronic fatigue syndrome and how stress and anxiety affect that condition.
This employment tribunal allowed a chef's disability discrimination claim to proceed after finding that his severe nut allergy is a disability under the Equality Act 2010.
The employment tribunal in this case allowed the claimant's disability discrimination case to proceed after finding that her severe eczema is a disability under the Equality Act 2010.
This case is a useful early example, along with Williams v Ystrad Mynach College ET/1600019/11, of how employment tribunals are approaching the new concept of "discrimination arising from disability" under the Equality Act 2010. The claimant fell at the first hurdle by failing to demonstrate a link between his disability and his treatment by the employer.