The appeal was against the rejection of the appellant’s claims for disability discrimination arising out of the withdrawal of a secondment opportunity in Montenegro on grounds of risk to her health. Both of her claims, under s. 15 (discrimination) and s. 20 (failure to make reasonable adjustments) of the Equality Act 2010, turned on whether the respondent acted disproportionately in withdrawing the opportunity rather than permitting her to go to Montenegro with safeguards in place to protect her from the consequences of her disability manifesting itself.
The appeal was dismissed. The tribunal’s essential reasoning was that, on the appellant’s own admission, she would continue to be at risk if she went to Montenegro and that the respondent was entitled to act so as to avoid that risk. There was no challenge on perversity grounds to that reasoning and the tribunal’s findings were clearly open to it on the evidence. The grounds of appeal, which sought to argue that the tribunal had misdirected itself, or had failed to consider certain reasonable adjustments relied upon by the appellant, or other factors relevant to the proportionality analysis, raised unfounded criticisms which were all insufficient to undermine the tribunal’s essential reasoning.
Jason Coppel QC, Deputy Judge of the High Court
[2021] UKEAT 2020-000468
Bailii
England and Wales
Employment, Discrimination
Updated: 31 December 2021; Ref: scu.670375
