EAT Disability Discrimination: Reasonable Adjustments
HARASSMENT – Purpose
DIABILITY DISCRIMINATION – Compensation
The Claimant was disabled. The Respondent had a provision criterion or practice of shutting down access to email and internet for employees on long-term sickness absence. The Employment Tribunal held that this substantially disadvantaged the Claimant in that he was not informed about important developments to his terms and conditions of employment and his benefits. They held that the Respondent had failed to make reasonable adjustments in order to communicate with the Claimant. The Employment Tribunal erred in failing to give reasons for making no award for injury to feelings for failing to make reasonable adjustments which would have enabled the Claimant to apply to join a Share Purchase Plan. Further, the Employment Tribunal erred in not including in the calculation of the personal injury award in respect of stress caused by the failure to make the reasonable adjustment of communicating information about the exercise of share options in good time, the period spent in hospital for stress. The Employment Appeal Tribunal increased the award.
Consideration of whether the Employment Tribunal erred in referring to the Respondent’s motive when determining a harassment claim. Richmond Pharmacology Ltd v Dhaliwal [2009] IRLR 336 applied. Observations on the 10% uplift in Simmons v Castle [2013] 1 WLR 1239 not applying to claims for injury to feelings in Employment Tribunals.
Slade DBE J
[2015] UKEAT 427 – 13 – 2502
Bailii
England and Wales
Employment
Updated: 28 December 2021; Ref: scu.543477