EAT PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE Case management Postponement or stay The Employment Tribunal refused to postpone a multi-day hearing in circumstances where the Claimant’s medical evidence indicated that he was genuinely unwell and unfit to attend. There was a history of delay and previous adjournments. Cases relating to decisions on adjournment applications and to the need … Continue reading Beardshall v Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council and Others: EAT 26 Oct 2012
The child was subject to the school eventually declined to clean and change him. The mother claimed that the school was discriminating. Held: The mother had understated the frequency of the bowel accidents. The school was not properly equipped to deal with them. The school head concluded that it could not sustain the placement out … Continue reading K v The School and the Special Needs and Disability Tribunal: CA 6 Mar 2007
EAT HARASSMENTUNFAIR DISMISSAL – Reasonableness of dismissalHarassment (Disability Discrimination Act 1995, section 3B) and unfair dismissal. Appeal on grounds that Tribunal’s reasoning perverse and/or in disregard of its own findings. Appeal dismissed. Judges: David Richardson J Citations: [2012] UKEAT 0612 – 11 – 2704 Links: Bailii Statutes: Disability Discrimination Act 1995 3B Jurisdiction: England and … Continue reading Prospects for People With Learning Difficulties v Harris: EAT 27 Apr 2012
EAT JURISDICTIONAL POINTSWorker, employee or neitherAgency relationshipsC was supplied by R2 (an employment agency) through R3 (another employment agency) to R1 (a local authority) for whom she worked as a Senior School Travel Planning Officer, fully integrated in R1’s organisation. C’s contract with R2 was described as a contract for services; it did not require … Continue reading London Borough of Camden v Pegg and Others: EAT 13 Apr 2012
The claimant appealed against decisions rejecting his claims of race and disability discrimination. Judges: Ward, Elias, Jack LJJ Citations: [2012] EWCA Civ 497 Links: Bailii Statutes: Race Relations Act 1975, Disability Discrimination Act 1995 Jurisdiction: England and Wales Discrimination Updated: 07 October 2022; Ref: scu.452900
The claimants, two disabled elderly people acted through their sons as litigation friends to challenge the defendant local authority’s budget-setting and consultation processes in relation to adult social care services.Specifically, the claimants contended that:i) The defendant’s decision to reduce its budget for the division which provides adult social care by andpound;17m over the next two … Continue reading D and S, Regina (on The Application of) v Manchester City Council: Admn 12 Jan 2012
EAT JURISDICTIONAL POINTS Worker, employee or neither Agency relationshipsClaim in time and effective date of termination Extension of time: just and equitable DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION – Reasonable adjustments HARASSMENT – ConductPRACTICE AND PROCEDURE Amendment Case management This is judgment on a preliminary hearing. The appeal had no prospect of success. The Employment Judge considered preliminary issues … Continue reading Czikai v Freemantle Media Ltd and Others: EAT 12 Oct 2011
Citations: [2006] EWCA Civ 1508 Links: Bailii Statutes: Disability Discrimination Act 1995 Jurisdiction: England and Wales Employment, Discrimination Updated: 17 September 2022; Ref: scu.246004
EAT UNFAIR DISMISSAL – Reasonableness of dismissal DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION – Reasonable adjustments Long-serving employee. Multiple grievances against her line managers. Unable to continue working in the same department. Employer willing to provide suitable alternative employment. After long period of negotiations between employer and employee, in order to bring matters to a head, employer gives three … Continue reading South Tyneside Council v Ward: EAT 12 Jul 2011
EAT Unfair Dismissal – OtherThe employer appealed a finding of unfair dismissal and disability discrimination. She suffered an apparently minor injury, but which led to long standing disability with varying diagnoses. The company doctor came to consider it would be a long time before she could return. She was dismissed for capability. Held: There was … Continue reading Gate Gourmet v J B Jangra: EAT 12 Dec 2000
EC directive on equal rights requires single parents to set off child care costs. A social security benefit designed to keep low income workers in employment or to encourage them into employment was within the scope of Directive 76/207/EC, not only as being directly related to access to employment, but also on the basis that … Continue reading Meyers v Adjudication Officer: ECJ 19 Jul 1995
(Grand Chamber) The claimants said that differences between the sexes in the payment of reduced earning allowances and retirement allowances were sex discrimination. Held: The differences were not infringing sex discrimination. The differences arose from the differences in pensionable ages for men and women introduced in 1940 in order to help remedy severe social inequalities … Continue reading Stec and Others v United Kingdom: ECHR 12 Apr 2006
Standing to Claim under A1P1 ECHR The appellants had written employers’ liability insurance policies. They appealed against rejection of their challenge to the 2009 Act which provided that asymptomatic pleural plaques, pleural thickening and asbestosis should constitute actionable harm for the purposes of an action of damages for personal injury. Held: The insurers’ appeals failed. … Continue reading AXA General Insurance Ltd and Others v Lord Advocate and Others: SC 12 Oct 2011
EAT RACE DISCRIMINATION – Direct discriminationDISABILITY DISCRIMINATION – DisabilityDISABILITY DISCRIMINATION – Reasonable AdjustmentsC, who is black, was employed by RBS. He raised a complaint against his manager (T). The manager to whom he complained (A) suggested, without any foundation in anything that C had said, that C was alleging a racial motivation on the part … Continue reading Royal Bank of Scotland Plc v Morris: EAT 12 Mar 2012
EAT Unfair Dismissal Disability discrimination The Tribunal had found a dismissal to be unfair because of flaws in a grievance procedure, following which the Claimant had resigned. They also found that the Claimant, who suffered an obsessive compulsive disorder, was subjected to taunts that she would not have had inflicted on her if she had … Continue reading Abbey National Plc v Fairbrother: EAT 12 Jan 2007
Iniquity surpasses legal advice privilege PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE – Disclosure PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE – Striking-out/dismissal An Employment Judge struck out paragraphs of the Claimant’s claim as they depended on an email in respect of which legal advice privilege was claimed. In considering whether privilege could not be claimed as the advice in the email was … Continue reading X v Y Ltd (Practice and Procedure – Disclosure): EAT 9 Aug 2018
The court was asked, whether asked to grant possession against a disabled tenant where the grounds for possession were mandatory. The defendant was a secure tenant with a history of psychiatric disability. He had set out to buy his flat, but the council sought possession when it discovered that he had sublet. Held: Section 23(3)(c) … Continue reading London Borough of Lewisham v Malcolm and Disability Rights Commission: CA 25 Jul 2007
barlow_stoneEAT2012 EAT DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION – Aiding and abettingThe Tribunal erred in concluding that it had no jurisdiction to consider a claim of victimisation brought by an employee against a fellow employee under Part II of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. In the circumstances it had: see section 17A(1)(b), section 57(1) and (2) and section 58(1) … Continue reading Barlow v P Stone: EAT 1 Jun 2012
The claimant sought a declaration that the duty set out in the 1995 Act applies to the discharge of duties, and to the exercise of powers, by local housing authorities under Part VII of the Housing Act 1996 being the part entitled ‘Homelessness’. The defendant argued that (1) the section concerned only the general formulation … Continue reading Pieretti v London Borough of Enfield: CA 12 Oct 2010
noor_ukbaEAT2012 EAT JURISDICTIONAL POINTS – Extension of time: just and equitableDISABILITY DISCRIMINATION – DisabilityPRACTICE AND PROCEDURE – Preliminary issuesThe Claimant contended he had been discriminated against and victimised on account of his disability in a long sequence of events. The Respondent acknowledged there was proximity between all of the events and for that reason sought … Continue reading Noor v UK Border Agency (UKBA): EAT 30 Jul 2012
Allowance of Stigma Damages The employees claimed damages, saying that the way in which their employer had behaved during their employment had led to continuing losses, ‘stigma damages’ after the termination. Held: It is an implied term of any contract of employment that the employer shall not without reasonable and proper cause conduct itself in … Continue reading Malik v Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI); Mahmud v Bank of Credit and Commerce International: HL 12 Jun 1997
The appellant was disabled, had legal qualifications, and worked with the respondent as a volunteer. She had sought assistance under the Disability Discrimination Act, now the 2012 Act, saying that she counted as a worker. The tribunal and CA had found no contractual relationship. She said that under the 2000 Directive (the Framework Directive ‘FD’) … Continue reading X v Mid Sussex Citizens Advice Bureau and Another: SC 12 Dec 2012
EAT Disability Discrimination : Disability Related DiscriminationThe Respondent employer appealed against the findings of the Employment Tribunal that the Claimant had been subject to disability related discrimination and harassment. The principal ground of appeal was that the ET failed to appreciate the full impact of London Borough of Lewisham (2008) on the need for a … Continue reading The Prince’s Trust v Donelan (Disability Discrimination : Disability Related Discrimination): EAT 14 Mar 2013
EAT Practice and Procedure : Costs – Tribunal orders that Appellant should pay Respondents one-third of their costs (estimated prior to assessment at andpound;260,000) on the basis that the claim was misconceived from the start.Held, dismissing the appeal, that there was no error of law in the Tribunal’s approach – In particular, it was not … Continue reading Vaughan v London Borough of Lewisham and Others (Practice and Procedure : Costs): EAT 6 Jun 2013
EAT DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION – Reasonable adjustments
The Employment Tribunal found that the Respondent was under a duty to make reasonable adjustments to provide one to one counselling for the Claimant’s . .
1267 – 1278 – 1285 – 1297 – 1361 – 1449 – 1491 – 1533 – 1677 – 1688 – 1689 – 1700 – 1706 – 1710 – 1730 – 1737 – 1738 – 1751 – 1774 – 1792 – 1793 – 1804 – 1814 – 1819 – 1824 – 1828 – 1831 – 1832 … Continue reading Acts
A company took on employees through an employment agency. The contract of employment was between the agency and the worker who was supplied to the company by the agency. It was the company which had relationship of principal to the worker, and so was responsible for compliance with the Disability Discrimination Act. The absence of … Continue reading MHC Consulting Services Ltd v Tansell: CA 19 Apr 2000
Complaint was made within time limit when the decision complained of was a reconsideration of an earlier decision, not just a reference back to it. Held: In a sex discrimination case, where there has been a constructive dismissal, time runs from the date of the employer’s breach and not from the date of the employee’s … Continue reading Cast v Croydon College: CA 19 Mar 1998
EAT DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION: Exclusions/jurisdictionsThe Employment Judge did not err in finding that the Appellant, a volunteer worker with the CAB, was not entitled by the DDA to claim disability discrimination. The Government is not in breach of the Framework Directive in this regard, and s4(2)(d) and s68 of the DDA do not fall to be … Continue reading X v Mid Sussex Citizens Advice Bureau and Another: EAT 30 Oct 2009
Judges: Silner J Citations: [2003] EWHC 3045 (Admin) Links: Bailii Statutes: Disability Discrimination Act 1995 Jurisdiction: England and Wales Cited by: Cited – K v The School and the Special Needs and Disability Tribunal CA 6-Mar-2007 The child was subject to the school eventually declined to clean and change him. The mother claimed that the … Continue reading McAuley Catholic High School v CC, PC and another: Admn 11 Dec 2003
Judges: Carnwath, Rimer, Jackson LJJ Citations: [2011] EWCA Civ 1577 Links: Bailii Statutes: Disability Discrimination Act 1995 49A Jurisdiction: England and Wales Discrimination Updated: 09 November 2022; Ref: scu.450112
EAT DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION – Reasonable Adjustments Appellant, who is deaf, employed by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office – FCO declines to post her to Kazakhstan because of the problems, and in particular the cost (about andpound;230,000 p.a.), of providing English-speaking lipspeaker support – Brings claims of direct discrimination under section 3A (5) of the Disability … Continue reading Cordell v Foreign and Commonwealth Office: EAT 5 Oct 2011
EAT DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION – Direct disability discriminationDISABILITY DISCRIMINATION – Reasonable adjustmentsUNFAIR DISMISSAL – Constructive dismissalClaimant, working as a debt adviser, suffers from agoraphobia and travel anxiety – Resigns when Respondent refuses to move her to bureau closer to her home on a guaranteed permanent basis – Tribunal dismisses claim under section 3A (2) of Disability … Continue reading Wilcox v Birmingham Cab Services Ltd: EAT 23 Jun 2011
EAT JURISDICTIONAL POINTS – Worker, employee or neitherAppeal by an Army Cadet Force Adult Instructor from the judgment of an Employment Judge sitting alone that he was a volunteer and not in ’employment’ as defined by s68(1) Disability Discrimination Act 1995 as amended. Appeal dismissed. The Employment Judge was correct as his factual findings were … Continue reading Breakell v West Midlands Reserve Forces’ and Cadets’ Association Named As Shropshire Army Cadet Force: EAT 11 Apr 2011
EAT DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION Disability related discrimination Direct disability discrimination An Employment Tribunal failed to focus on the wording of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 in concluding there had been no reasonable adjustment when the employer failed further to extend the benefits of the sick pay scheme to her, when they were already well beyond that … Continue reading The Royal Bank of Scotland v Ashton: EAT 16 Dec 2010
The court was asked whether the claimant, a volunteer worker with the respondent had the protection of the 1995 Act in that work as a worker, despite nnot being employed. Judges: Rix, Elias, Tomlinson LJJ Citations: [2011] EWCA Civ 28, (2011) 118 BMLR 147, [2011] ICR 460, [2011] 2 CMLR 18, [2011] Eq LR 309, … Continue reading X v Mid Sussex Citizens Advice Bureau and Others: CA 26 Jan 2011
How much detail an Employment Tribunal has to go into when determining what were the reasonable steps which an employer should have taken to perform its duty to a disabled person under section 6 of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 Citations: [2004] EWCA Civ 1256 Links: Bailii Jurisdiction: England and Wales Discrimination Updated: 31 August … Continue reading Electronic Data Systems Ltd v Travis: CA 26 Aug 2004
EAT DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION: Reasonable adjustments The Employment Tribunal erred in law in failing to properly apply s. 18B of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 to the evidence and to make the necessary findings of fact about reasonable adjustments: Smiths Detection – Watford Ltd v Berriman (UKEAT/0712/04/CK) and Romec Ltd v Rudham (UKEAT/0069/DA) applies. Judges: Birtles … Continue reading Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Job Centre Plus) and Others v Wilson: EAT 19 Feb 2010
EAT UNFAIR DISMISSALConstructive dismissalDISABILITY DISCRIMINATIONCompensationIn a claim for constructive unfair dismissal where the last straw doctrine was not relied on, the Employment Tribunal was entitled to hold that the Claimant’s reason for resignation 12 weeks after the relevant breach was not that breach.The Employment Tribunal did not err when it placed the injury to feelings … Continue reading Da’Bell v National Society for Prevention of Cruelty To Children: EAT 28 Sep 2009
EAT DISABILITY DISCRIMINATIONReasonable adjustmentsSection 4A(1) and (3) of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.The Tribunal found that employer had failed to make a reasonable adjustment when it gave the Claimant a 12 month written warning for leaving work early without asking for or obtaining permission. On appeal, the Employment Appeal Tribunal held: no basis in fact … Continue reading Secretary of State for the Department for Work and Pensions v Alam: EAT 9 Nov 2009
The claimant sought damages after his treatment as a disabled person whilst held in immigration detention centres. The court dismissed his claim on the basis of Amin. Held: The application of the Amin case was too simplistic. The various services provided at the detention centre were only to some extent purely governmental. A disabled person … Continue reading Gichura v Home Office and Another: CA 20 May 2008
The case of Malcolm has overruled Novacold. Toulson LJ said: ‘In Malcolm the House of Lords was concerned with the construction of the same phrase in Part III of the Act. It overruled the decision in Clark v Novacold and held that the proper comparator was someone who had behaved in the same way as … Continue reading N, Regina (on the Application of) v London Borough of Barking and Dagenham Independent Appeal Panel: CA 24 Feb 2009
ECJ Social policy – Directive 2000/78/EC – Equal treatment in employment and occupation – Articles 1, 2(1), (2)(a) and (3) and 3(1)(c) – Direct discrimination on grounds of disability – Harassment related to disability – Dismissal of an employee who is not himself disabled but whose child is disabled – Included – Burden of proof. … Continue reading S. Coleman v Attridge Law, Steve Law: ECJ 17 Jul 2008
The court was asked about the differential in retirement ages between men and women in private sector employment, and whether it constituted sex discrimination. Held: Section 2(4) of the 1972 Act did not allow a British Court to distort the meaning of a British Statute in order to enforce a Community Directive which does not … Continue reading Duke v GEC Reliance Systems Limited: HL 2 Jan 1988
The claimant renewed her application for leave to appeal. She had been a probationary constable, but after various injuries came to suffer disability, preventing her being able to carry out the routine activities of as constable, and her employment had been terminated. The tribunal, having found her to be disabled, found also that the discrimination … Continue reading Hart v Chief Constable of Derbyshire Constabulary: CA 24 Jun 2008
EAT Sex Discrimination – Inferring DiscriminationThe claimant sought compenstion for sex discrimination. She appealed a finding of a material factor justifying the difference in pay. Held: The new provisions included reference to the Code of Practice issued by the Equal Opportunities Commission, which provided that the employer should provide a transparent system for setting pay … Continue reading Barton v Investec Henderson Crosthwaite Securities Ltd: EAT 6 Mar 2003
EAT UNFAIR DISMISSAL: Constructive dismissal The Employment Tribunal held the employee had not been constructively dismissed. One of the complaints related to defects in the handling of the grievance procedure. The Tribunal held that they considered that the employers had acted unreasonably, but that applying the principle adopted in Abbey National plc v Fairbrother [2007] … Continue reading Claridge v Daler Rowney Ltd: EAT 4 Jul 2008
The court considered the relationship between the two Acts. The assured tenant had fallen into arrears, and was subject to an order for possession. He claimed that his disability required the court not to make an order for possession against her, and that arrears of payable housing benefits would clear the debt. Held: The appeal … Continue reading S v Floyd, Equality and Human Rights Commission: CA 18 Mar 2008
EAT Disability discrimination – Reasonable adjustments/Justification1. The employers appealed against two findings by the Tribunal that they had failed to make reasonable adjustments for her disability and against the finding that their admittedly disability-related dismissal of the employee was not justified.2. The first adjustment which the Tribunal concluded the employers ought to have made and … Continue reading London Borough of Camden v Price-Job: EAT 18 Dec 2007
EAT Disability discrimination – Reasonable adjustmentsThe Tribunal found that the Chief Constable was entitled to terminate the services of a probationary constable who could not successfully complete her probationary period because certain disabilities prevented her from carrying out duties in a confrontational setting. It was not a reasonable adjustment to expect the Chief Constable to … Continue reading Hart v Chief Constable of Derbyshire Constabulary: EAT 6 Dec 2007
The employer appealed an order extending the time for the claimant to claim disability discrimination. The claimant had been suspended pending disciplinary proceedings, but became subject to severe depression, and his doctors said he was unfit to face a hearing. An adjourned hearing went ahead in his absence, and he was dismissed in January 2005. … Continue reading Department of Constitutional Affairs v Jones: CA 18 Jul 2007
The EAT upheld the decision of an Employment Tribunal that the claimant had not shown that her disability was likely to recur. However: ‘In considering whether during a particular period in the past, a substantial adverse effect was likely to recur a tribunal is of course entitled to look at the evidence of what occurred … Continue reading Swift v Chief Constable of Wiltshire Constabulary: EAT 25 Nov 2003
EAT The claimant appealed dismissal of his claim under the 1995 Act. He was a telephone operator injured after a sudden shriek in his ear. They had found him not to be disabled within the 1995 Act. Held: The appeal succeeded. The tribunal had carefully considered medical evidence provided by the defendant before deciding themselves … Continue reading Abadeh v British Telecommunications Plc: EAT 19 Oct 2000
EAT The ET dismissed as premature the Claimant”s application for disability discrimination because the application was made less than 28 days after the Claimant”s grievance had been raised in a letter dated 21st April 2005. In fact there was an earlier letter that constituted a written grievance that was before the ET but its significance … Continue reading Pugh v National Assembly for Wales: EAT 26 Sep 2006
The employer appealed against findings of unfair dismissal and disability discrimination. The employee worked in IT. He was profoundly deaf, but could lip read and read sign language. He had been accused of obtaining improper access to a senior staff member’s emails. During the disciplinary hearing, he had been assisted by an interpreter for part … Continue reading Taylor v OCS Group Ltd: CA 31 May 2006
The defendant tenant appealed an order for possession of her flat. She was disabled and living with her 19 year old son. He had been made subject to an anti-social behaviour order. The court had found that she could have required him to leave. The tenant alleged disability discrimination. Held: As to the relevance of … Continue reading Knowsley Housing Trust v McMullen: CA 9 May 2006
The EAT gave guidance on the approach to be adopted in cases where a mental impairment is alleged by a complainant. After referring to paragraph 1 of Schedule 1 of the Act: ‘Accordingly, in general there will be three or possibly four routes to establishing the existence of ‘mental impairment’ within the [1995 Act], namely: … Continue reading Morgan v Staffordshire University: EAT 11 Dec 2001
The claimant had been severely injured in a road traffic accident. His claim was compromised and embodied in a court order, but later a question was raised as to whether he had had mental capacity at the time to make the compromise he had. Held: The term ‘patient’ in this context had a meaning specific … Continue reading Bailey v Warre: CA 7 Feb 2006
The chambers appealed a finding of discrimination, saying that a pupil was not a member of the set so as to qualify under the Act. Held: The barristers set or chambers was a trade organisation, but the position of a pupil barrister was not that of a member of that chambers so as to attract … Continue reading 1 Pump Court Chambers v Horton: EAT 2 Dec 2003
EAT The Employment Tribunal was wrong to find that the Respondent had discriminated against the Claimant under Section 6(1) of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 because it omitted to find what arrangements made by or on behalf of the Respondent, or which physical feature of the Respondent’s premises, placed the Claimant at a substantial disadvantage. … Continue reading Smiths Detection – Watford Ltd v Berriman: EAT 9 Aug 2005
The court was asked as to who was the appropriate respondent when a claim for disability discrimination is brought by a teacher employed at a maintained community school with a delegated budget. The teacher’s contract of employment is with the local education authority, but the Governing Body of such a school is given extensive employment … Continue reading Murphy v Slough Borough Council Governing Body of Langleywood School: CA 16 Feb 2005
Citations: [2005] EWCA Civ 1220, [2006] ICR 524, [2006] IRLR 41 Links: Bailii Statutes: Disability Discrimination Act 1995 Jurisdiction: England and Wales Cited by: Cited – High Quality Lifestyles Ltd v Watts EAT 10-Apr-2006 EAT The Employment Tribunal had erred in its construction of direct discrimination under s3A(5) of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 as … Continue reading Smith v Churchills Stairlifts Plc: CA 27 Oct 2005
EAT The appellant who was disabled was dismissed after a long absence from work. He made various claims under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, all of which were rejected. He contended that the failure to make an assessment of a disabled employee was a failure to make a reasonable adjustment and that Tarbuck v Sainsbury’s … Continue reading Spence v Intype Libra Ltd: EAT 27 Apr 2007
A medical report in a disability discrimination claim should deal with the doctor’s diagnosis of the impairments, the doctor’s observation of the applicant carrying out day to day activities and the ease with which he was able to perform those functions, together with any relevant opinion as to prognosis and the effect of medication. Morison … Continue reading Vicary v British Telecommunications Plc: EAT 19 Feb 1998
Appeal from rejection of claim for constructive unfair dismissal and of discrimination. Judges: Timothy Brennan QC Rec Citations: [2002] UKEAT 0071 – 02 – 1812 Links: Bailii Statutes: Disability Discrimination Act 1995 Jurisdiction: England and Wales Citing: Cited – Ministry of Defence v Jeremiah CA 1980 The court considered the meaning of ‘detriment’ in discrimination … Continue reading Turner v Scope (A Registered Charity): EAT 18 Dec 2002
The claimant appealed against dismissal of her unfair dismissal and of her maternity related discrimination claim. Held: The appeal succeeded: ‘it does not appear that the tribunal gave any separate consideration to whether the pregnancy was an effective cause of the adverse treatment of Mrs Gbokoyi and, insofar as it relied on the reasons which … Continue reading Gbokoyi v Bennett’s Eco-Inverter (Environmental Services) Ltd: EAT 18 Jan 2002
EAT Disability Discrimination: meaning of disability The combination of Section 1 of, and Schedule 1 paragraph 8 to, of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 means that if the Appellant has a progressive condition, and has an insubstantial impairment for 12 months, and a further substantial impairment, he is not required to prove the latter is … Continue reading Grimley v Turner and Jarvis Co Ltd: EAT 26 Mar 2004
EAT The Council appealed against a finding that the respondent, their employee, was disabled under the 1995 Act. He suffered from a long term mixed anxiety and depression disorder, but the Council disputed that it should have a substantial and long term adverse effect on his ability to carry out normal activities. The expert evidence … Continue reading East Sussex County Council v Hancock: EAT 5 Nov 2003
EAT The claimant had presented claims of sex and disability discrimination and victimisation. She suffered injury to her throat when builders demolished a wall near her workstation. Held: The employer’s appeal was dismissed. ‘There must be many cases in which the disabled person has been placed at a substantial disadvantage in the workplace, but in … Continue reading Mid-Staffordshire General Hospitals NHS Trust v Cambridge: EAT 4 Mar 2003
EAT The tribunal asked whether the claimant was disabled within the Act. He suffered depression, but the tribunal had found it not substantial and not capable of lasting more than 12 months. EAT Disability Discrimination – Disability. Judges: The Honourable Lord Johnston Citations: EATS/0016/02, [2002] UKEAT 0016 – 02 – 2011 Links: Bailii, EAT Statutes: … Continue reading Douglas McFarlane v Shell (UK) Ltd: EAT 20 Nov 2002
EAT Disability Discrimination – Disability EAT Disability Discrimination – Disability. Judges: The Honourable Mr Justice Lindsay (P) Citations: EAT/1116/00, [2002] UKEAT 1116 – 00 – 2502, [2002] ICR 971 Links: Bailii, EATn Statutes: Disability Discrimination Act 1995 Citing: See Also – Rowden v Dutton Gregory Solicitors EAT 1-Mar-2001 Disability Discrimination – Disability. . . Cited … Continue reading Rowden v Dutton Gregory Solictors: EAT 17 Dec 2001
EAT The EAT considered the expression ‘likely to last’ in paragraph 2(1)(b) of the Act, and stated: ‘It is always tempting to accord, and is often appropriate, when it is charged with finding out what at some earlier date the future would then have seem to hold, to have regard to what the future in … Continue reading Latchman v Reed Business Information Ltd: EAT 7 Dec 2001
The claimant challenged refusal of his claim of discrimination. He was profoundly deaf. He applied for work, and indicated his disability, but no provision was made for a signer to appear at the interview. The interview was re-arranged, but he failed. Held: The tribunal gave reasons for finding that the disability had played no part … Continue reading Murphy v Sheffield Hallam University: EAT 11 Jan 2000
The college appealed a finding that the applicant who had been found to be disabled within the Act, but denied discrimination. They appealed the finding of the tribunal which had failed to identify whether the disability was mental or physical. Held: There was sufficient evidence of impairment to constitute disability. The expert evidence was not … Continue reading College of Ripon and York St John v Dr Hobbs: EAT 14 Nov 2001
Appeal about the scope of protection conferred by the 1995 Act on ‘contract workers’, workers who do work for the alleged discriminator, but not employed by him. They are employed by someone else and their services are contracted out. The case turns on the interpretation of section 12 of the 1995 Act which makes it … Continue reading Abbey Life Assurance Company Limited v Tansell: CA 6 Apr 2000
The dismissal by a Roman Catholic school of a teacher who was pregnant by a priest, was on the grounds of pregnancy, and for an inadmissible reason. The pregnancy was an effective cause of the adverse treatment of the Appellant by her employer. Judges: Mummery P Citations: Gazette 12-Sep-1996, Times 07-Jun-1996, [1996] IRLR 372, [1996] … Continue reading O’Neill v Governors of St Thomas More Roman Catholic Voluntary Aided Upper School: EAT 7 Jun 1996
A tribunal considering a claim of disability discrimination should best consider the various statutory elements in the order given in the Act, so as to avoid confusion in unraveling what is a complex statutory structure. The wide language of section 6(2) and 6(3) is capable of applying to a ‘dismissal situation’. Although section 6 makes … Continue reading Morse v Wiltshire County Council: EAT 1 May 1998
EAT Unfair dismissal and Race Relations Act 1976 Unfair dismissal – Exclusions including worker/jurisdiction Three cases were stayed pending the judgment of the House of Lords in Lawson v Serco [2006] ICR 250. The appeal in the British Council case was dismissed on withdrawal after the hearing and before the judgment. In ADT, the Employment … Continue reading ADT Fire and Security Plc v Speyer: EAT 15 Sep 2006
A coalmine owner claimed statutory compensation against a water undertaking which had, under its statutory authority, prevented him mining his coal over a period during which the price of coal had risen. The House was asked whether the coal should be valued as at the beginning of the period or at its value during the … Continue reading Bwllfa and Merthyr Dare Steam Collieries (1891) Ltd v Pontypridd Waterworks Co: HL 1903
The claimant sought damages for repudiation of a charterparty. The charterpary had been intended to continue until 2005. The charterer repudiated the contract and that repudiation was accepted, but before the arbitrator could set his award, the Iraq war broke out, under which the charterer could have terminated the charter as of right. The defendant … Continue reading Golden Strait Corporation v Nippon Yusen Kubishka Kaisha (‘The Golden Victory’): HL 28 Mar 2007
The Industrial Tribunal had held that the appellant’s dismissal was unfair but then decided that she had failed to mitigate her loss. At the conclusion of the hearing, the Tribunal announced its decision and stated that she was to get no compensatory award because of that failure. Her solicitor said nothing. When he received the … Continue reading Trimble v Supertravel Ltd: EAT 1982
The ability of a tribunal to revisit its own judgments, the review procedure, was only appropriate for use in exceptional circumstances. Citations: [1978] IRLR 112 Cited by: Cited – Trimble v Supertravel Ltd EAT 1982 The Industrial Tribunal had held that the appellant’s dismissal was unfair but then decided that she had failed to mitigate … Continue reading D G Moncrieff (Farmers) v MacDonald: EAT 1978
An employer dismissing an employee for sickness absences, and who was unaware that the sickness had come to be a disability, did not discriminate under the Act. The reason for the dismissal was to be looked for in the mind of the employer. Citations: Gazette 08-Jul-1998, Gazette 10-Jun-1998, Times 12-Mar-1998, [1998] IRLR 233 Statutes: Disability … Continue reading O’Neill v Symm and Co Ltd: EAT 10 Jun 1998
Miss Cox claimed that the Council had not made a proper adjustment so as to allow her to work for them despite her disability. The Council asserted as a preliminary point that they were not a trade organisation within the sections, and so were not caught by the provisions. They appealed a finding against them. … Continue reading General Medical Council v H Cox: EAT 22 Mar 2002
The plaintiff complained that the respondent had described its drink ‘Babycham’ as a champagne perry, which it said was a misuse of the appellation ‘champagne’. Held: The court considered the effect of European legislation on the law of England and Wales. Lord Denning MR said: ‘But when we come to matters with a European element, … Continue reading Bulmer (HP) Ltd v Bollinger SA: CA 1974
Rehearing/Review – Little Difference on Appeal The appellant asked the Court to reverse a decision on the facts reached in the lower court. Held: The appeal failed (Majority decision). The court’s approach should be the same whether the case was dealt with as a rehearing or as a review. Tanfern was limited to appeals from … Continue reading Assicurazioni Generali Spa v Arab Insurance Group (BSC): CA 13 Nov 2002
The court was asked whether the Bill was within the competence of the Welsh Assembly. The Bill purported to impose NHS charges on those from whom asbestos related damages were recovered. Held: The Bill fell outside the legislative competence of the Welsh Assembly, in that it did not relate to any of the subjects listed … Continue reading Recovery of Medical Costs for Asbestos Diseases (Wales) Bill (Reference By The Counsel General for Wales): SC 9 Feb 2015
Several lone parents challenged the benefits cap, saying that it was discriminatory. Held: (Hale, Kerr LL dissenting) The parents’ appeals failed. The legislation had a clear impact on lone parents and their children. The intention was to encourage claimants back into work. It was said that thus contradicted the other policy of providing no free … Continue reading DA and Others, Regina (on The Application of) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions: SC 15 May 2019
The claimant, a charity assisting immigrants and asylum seekers, challenged a policy document regulating the access to the court of failed applicants facing removal. They said that the new policy, reducing the opportunity to appeal to 72 hours or less, made ineffective any right for judicial review. Held: The request was granted, and the 2010 … Continue reading Medical Justice, Regina (on The Application of) v Secretary of State for The Home Department: Admn 26 Jul 2010
ECJ Reference for a preliminary ruling: Arbeitsgericht Lorrach – Germany. Social policy – Protection of the health and safety of workers – Directive 93/104/EC – Scope – Emergency workers in attendance in ambulances in the framework of an emergency service run by the German Red Cross – Definition of ‘road transport’ – Maximum weekly working … Continue reading Pfeiffer v Deutsches Rotes Kreuz, Kreisverband Waldshut eV (1): ECJ 5 Oct 2004
The appellant challenged refusal of his claim for unfair dismissal. A probation officer, he had business interests in fire breathing and bondage merchandising which the service said were incompatible with his duties, and dismissed him. He complained that this infringed his right to freedom of expression. Held: A public authority had to respect an employee’s … Continue reading Pay v Lancashire Probation Service: EAT 29 Oct 2003
The claimant had said that the effect of her dyslexia was to inhibit her career progress. Held:It was right for a tribunal to have regard to how an applicant could carry out duties at work in deciding whether she was within the Disability Discrimination Act. Evidence of how the claimant carries out normal day-to-day activities … Continue reading Law Hospitals NHS Trust v Rush: SCS 13 Jun 2001
[1999] UKEAT 83 – 99 – 2303 Bailii Disability Discrimination Act 1995 England and Wales Cited by: Cited – Post Office v Jones EAT 9-Feb-2000 . .See Also – Post Office v Jones CA 5-Jun-2001 The employee had become diabetic. Upon his coming to require insulin, the employer undertook a new risk assessment, and restricted … Continue reading Post Office v Jones: EAT 23 Mar 1999
The applicant was a chief inspector of police. She had been prevented from carrying out appraisals of other senior staff, and complained of sex discrimination. Held: The claimant’s appeal failed. The tribunal had taken a two stage approach. It had asked first whether there had been less favourable treatment, and then asked why there had … Continue reading Shamoon v Chief Constable of the Royal Ulster Constabulary: HL 27 Feb 2003
Unfair Dismissal: Reasonableness of Dismissal – DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION – Reasonable adjustments Unfair Dismissal – fairness of the decision to dismiss In circumstances where the advice available to the employer had materially changed between the taking of the decision to dismiss and the dismissal itself, a question arose as to whether this impacted upon the fairness … Continue reading Fox v British Airways Plc (Unfair Dismissal: Reasonableness of Dismissal): EAT 22 Apr 2015
Appeal from possession order – house occupied by school caretaker. Maurice Kay VP, Carnwath, Lloyf LJJ [2011] EWCA Civ 834, [2011] Eq LR 1167, [2011] HLR 46, [2011] NPC 79, (2011) 14 CCL Rep 617, [2011] 30 EG 57, [2012] PTSR 56 Bailii Disability Discrimination Act 1995 49A, European Convention on Human Rights 8, Human … Continue reading Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council v Norton and Others: CA 21 Jul 2011
The employee had failed to mention at the hearing of his claim for a redundancy payment a fact which was arguably highly material to the issue of whether his refusal of alternative employment was reasonable; and his claim had been dismissed. He applied for a review. Held: The court was asked whether, and in what … Continue reading Flint v Eastern Electricity Board: EAT 1975
EAT Disability Discrimination : Disability Related Discrimination – Reasonable adjustments – The Respondent was employed by the Appellants as a reception and finance manager. She suffered from work-related stress and severe depression. She resigned from her employment when the Appellants did not act on the recommendations made by the clinical psychiatrist to whom they referred … Continue reading Croft Vets Ltd and Others v Butcher: EAT 2 Oct 2013
EAT DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION – Reasonable adjustmentsThe Employment Tribunal did not apply the structured approach in Rowan and Ashton to the Claimant’s claim for reasonable adjustments, or show that it considered s.4A(1) or (3) Disability Discrimination Act 1995, and did not answer a crucial question in its list of issues. The judgment and the consequential remedy … Continue reading Newham Sixth Form College v Sanders: EAT 2 Jul 2013
Lord Justice Mummery [2010] EWCA Civ 910, [2010] IRLR 994, [2010] ICR 1278 Bailii Disability Discrimination Act 1995 England and Wales Employment, Discrimination Updated: 17 November 2021; Ref: scu.421103
