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Disability discrimination

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  • Date:
    1 September 2009
    Type:
    Employment law cases

    Chief Constable of Lothian and Borders Police v Cumming

    The Employment Appeal Tribunal has held that a special constable's inability to meet the physical requirements to become a regular constable is not an adverse effect on her ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities when deciding whether or not she is disabled.

  • Date:
    15 July 2009
    Type:
    Employment law cases

    Fareham College Corporation v Walters

    The Employment Appeal Tribunal has held that, in a claim of disability-related discrimination, and where the employer had failed to make a reasonable adjustment, the employment tribunal's failure to carry out a comparative exercise according to London Borough of Lewisham v Malcolm did not invalidate its decision that there had been less favourable treatment for a reason related to the employee's disability.

  • Date:
    29 September 2008
    Type:
    Employment law cases

    Disability discrimination: Associative discrimination prohibited

    In Coleman v Attridge Law and another [2008] IRLR 722, the ECJ held that the protection afforded against direct discrimination and harassment on grounds of disability under the Equal Treatment Framework Directive is not limited to those who are themselves disabled.

  • Date:
    29 September 2008
    Type:
    Employment law cases

    Disability discrimination: House of Lords overturns Clark v Novacold

    In London Borough of Lewisham v Malcolm [2008] IRLR 700, the House of Lords held that the comparator for the purposes of disability-related discrimination should be construed narrowly, contrary to the Court of Appeal ruling in Clark v TDG t/a Novacold. It also held that disability discrimination cannot be established unless the alleged discriminator knew that the complainant was disabled.

  • Date:
    10 March 2008
    Type:
    Employment law cases

    Disability discrimination: Meaning of 'likely to recur'

    In Richmond Adult Community College v McDougall [2008] IRLR 227, the Court of Appeal held that, in considering whether or not a long-term adverse effect was likely to recur, only events leading up to the alleged act of discrimination should be taken into account.

  • Date:
    18 December 2007
    Type:
    Employment law cases

    Disability discrimination: Consultation with employee was not part of employer's duty to make reasonable adjustments

    In Scottish and Southern Energy plc v Mackay EATS/0075/06, the EAT held that failure by an employer to consult directly with a disabled employee about the possibility of his taking up less-stressful alternative work rendered the employee's subsequent dismissal unfair, but did not in itself amount to a failure by the employer to make reasonable adjustments.

  • Date:
    29 October 2007
    Type:
    Employment law cases

    Disability discrimination: Taking promotional exams was a normal day-to-day activity

    In Paterson v Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis [2007] IRLR 763, the EAT held that a policeman who suffered from dyslexia, which disadvantaged him when undergoing assessment for promotion, had an impairment that had a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. The dyslexia therefore amounted to a disability within the meaning of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.

  • Type:
    Employment law cases

    Case round-up

    Judith Harris, professional support lawyer at Addleshaw Goddard, outlines the latest legal rulings.

  • Date:
    23 August 2007
    Type:
    Employment law cases

    Romec Ltd v Rudham

    In Romec Ltd v Rudham EAT/0069/07, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has held that an employment tribunal erred in its approach to deciding whether or not an employer's failure to extend a disabled employee's phased return to work was a breach of the duty to make reasonable adjustments.

  • Date:
    11 July 2007
    Type:
    Employment law cases

    Disability discrimination: No obligation to continue to pay full sick pay to disabled employee

    In O'Hanlon v Commissioners for Inland Revenue & Customs [2007] IRLR 404 CA, the Court of Appeal held that the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 does not require an employer to continue paying a disabled employee whose entitlement to sick pay has been exhausted by disability-related absence.

About this topic

HR and legal information and guidance relating to disability discrimination.