Olenloa v North West London Hospitals NHS Trust: EAT 29 Jun 2012

olenloaEAT2012

EAT DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION – Reasonable adjustments
JURISDICTIONAL POINTS
Claim in time and effective date of termination
Extension of time: just and equitable
The Employment Judge erred in deciding, without making necessary findings of fact, that the Respondent’s obligations to make reasonable adjustments for the Claimant, who was alleged to be a disabled person, came to an end when he went on sick leave. The evidence before the Employment Judge on which she made her decision suggested that she erred in failing to make findings of fact about the nature of any adjustments required and whether the Claimant would have been able to remain or return to work if such adjustments had been made. Such findings were necessary to determine whether the complaints of failure to make reasonable adjustments were made in time and if not, whether it was just and equitable to extend time. These issues were to be determined at a full hearing of the Claimant’s claims some of which were in any event presented in time. NCH Scotland v Ms P McHugh UKEATS/0010/06/MT distinguished. Hendricks v Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis [2003] IRLR 96 and Matusowicz v Kingston upon Hull City Council [2009] EWCA Civ 22 applied.
Observations on the difficulty of determining without hearing all the relevant evidence the date upon which it is to be inferred that an employer decided on an omission such that time starts to run for the purpose of presenting a complaint of failure to make reasonable adjustments.

Slade J
[2012] UKEAT 0599 – 11 – 2906
Bailii
England and Wales

Employment, Discrimination

Updated: 11 November 2021; Ref: scu.461866