EAT DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION – Reasonable adjustments
The Claimant was a train operative employed by the Respondent. He was summarily dismissed following three serious safety breaches occurring on the same day. He had been suffering from severe symptoms of grief following two bereavements. An internal appeal succeeded to the extent that the sanction imposed was reduced to summary dismissal suspended for 52 weeks. The Claimant appealed and contended that the Tribunal had erred (1) in finding that the Respondent did not have actual or constructive knowledge of the Claimant’s disability and (2) in its treatment of the Claimant’s alternative argument on failure to make reasonable adjustments that the internal appeal should have been adjourned for an Occupational Health opinion. It was accepted that both arguments would be required to succeed before the appeal could be allowed.
Held:
(1) The question of actual or constructive knowledge of disability was one of fact for the Tribunal. The evidence before the Tribunal on this issue did not all point in the same direction. The finding made was accordingly open to the Tribunal and it could not be said that no reasonable Tribunal could reach the same conclusion. In any event,
(2) The alternative case on reasonable adjustment of adjourning the internal appeal had not been given prominence before the Tribunal. Insofar as it had been raised it had been addressed. An adjournment would have served no purpose as the Claimant’s medical condition was taken into account as mitigation leading to reduction of the penalty. The Tribunal was entitled to conclude that an adjustment of imposing no immediate sanction was not reasonable.
Appeal dismissed.
Citations:
[2017] UKEAT 0074 – 17 – 0509
Links:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Employment
Updated: 02 April 2022; Ref: scu.601897