EAT Unfair Dismissal : Constructive Dismissal – DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION – Reasonable adjustments
Claimant suffered personality disorder and was disabled for the purposes of DDA. He was suspended for misconduct in November 2009 and was still suspended a year later when he resigned.
The Employment Tribunal found in his favour on disability discrimination claims based on ‘reasonable adjustments’ arising from a failure to pay him correct pay and failure to bring an end to suspension by July 2009. The EAT found that this was misconceived: neither the failure to exercise care on pay or to make proper progress on the suspension could be described as a ‘provision, practice or procedure applied by the employer’ and nor could the exercise of care or the speeding-up of the disciplinary process be described as the ‘taking of steps’ so as to bring the case within section 4A of the DDA.
The ET also found that he had been constructively (and unfairly) dismissed. The Respondent’s appeal against that finding was rejected: this was a classic case of a course of conduct culminating in a last straw which amounted to a repudiatory breach of contract in response to which the Claimant resigned, and the ET’s conclusions in this respect were not ones that no reasonable Tribunal could reach.
The Claimant’s cross-appeals on various other findings of the ET raised no points of law.
Judges:
Shanks J
Citations:
[2013] UKEAT 0371 – 12 – 1202
Links:
Statutes:
Disability Discrimination Act 1996 4A
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Employment, Discrimination
Updated: 17 November 2022; Ref: scu.472836