A public-sector worker with 34 years' service who was dismissed after exceeding her trigger point under the employer's absence management procedure by a few days has been awarded over £30,000 for discrimination arising from disability and unfair dismissal.
Jessica Alice-Curtis is a trainee solicitor, Lucy Melville is a paralegal and Nigel Cousin, David Rintoul and Rachael Wake are associates at Addleshaw Goddard LLP. They round up the latest rulings.
An employment tribunal has held that an NHS trust committed discrimination arising from disability and failed to make reasonable adjustments for an employee having cancer treatment who was required to undergo a competitive interview process during a redeployment exercise.
An employment tribunal has found that an employer did not commit discrimination arising from disability and met its duty to make reasonable adjustments when it withdrew a conditional job offer after health and safety concerns over a job applicant's epilepsy.
An employment tribunal has rejected the unfair dismissal claim of an employee who was caught making a public appearance as a medium while on sick leave.
In General Dynamics Information Technology Ltd v Carranza [2015] IRLR 43 EAT, the EAT held that, when dismissing a disabled employee for absence, the employer was not required either to disregard a final written warning for the purpose of complying with its duty to make reasonable adjustments, or to review the warning before placing reliance on it to effect dismissal.
The sudden dismissal of an employee with caring responsibilities who is performing satisfactorily will raise suspicions of associative disability discrimination, as the employer in this employment tribunal case found out.
In DLA Piper's latest case report, the upper tribunal in a special educational needs case provides guidance on the exclusion from the definition of a disability under the Equality Act 2010 of a "tendency to physical abuse of others".
David Malamatenios is a partner, Colin Makin, Sandra Martins and Krishna Santra are senior associates, and Hinal Raichura is a trainee at Colman Coyle Solicitors. They round up the latest rulings.