UK disability discrimination law and stammering / stuttering
Allan Tyrer Harassment by third parties Harassment by third parties updated for the EHRC’s revised Technical guidance on harassment (30 October 2026), which at para 3.89-3.110 discusses the new rules which have just come into force on this. I’ve also expanded a bit Who is liable under the Equality Act?>Employer’s defence of having taken all reasonable steps, … Read more
Starbucks STAMMA has released a short video talking about the mandatory training Starbucks has introduced for all its baristas in the UK about serving customers who stammer. The work was completed in collaboration with STAMMA. More: Starbucks campaign. New six month time limit for employment tribunal claims Resolving employment disputes>Time limit for tribunal claims (changes … Read more
The claimant made Equality Act 2010 (EqA) claims relying on ‘work related stress and anxiety’ as his disability. He later added that he also stammered. An employment tribunal (ET) accepted that his stammer was a disability within the EqA. However, in the circumstances of the case, the ET refused to amend his claims to include … Read more
Starbucks’ policy of asking customers for their names has created particular difficulties if one has a stammer. Following a day of action against it, and discussions with STAMMA, Starbucks has now introduced mandatory training for all its baristas in the UK about serving customers who stammer. Video, September 2026 This short video talks about the … Read more
Case on reasonable adjustments in call centre In Tait v Holiday Extras, the claimant had various disabilities, mostly mental. She worked in a call centre. This dealt mainly with voice calls, but also chat and email. An employment tribunal upheld many of her claims for reasonable adjustments. For example she could feel overwhelmed by too … Read more
The claimant applied for two jobs with the employer, saying in his CV that he had ‘excellent communication skills despite having a stammer’. He was not appointed. He claimed this was because the employer perceived him to have a disability within the Equality Act 2010 (EqA). The employment tribunal rejected his claims. He had not … Read more
This took effect as a statutory Code of Practice on 5th August 2026. The new Code The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has now issued its revised Services, public functions and associations: Statutory Code of Practice (EHRC website), and this is now in force. The Code is also on gov.uk, including as a pdf. … Read more
The claimant had various disabilities, mostly mental. She worked in a call centre. This dealt mainly with voice calls, but also chat and email. An employment tribunal upheld many of her claims for reasonable adjustments. For example she could feel overwhelmed by too many voice calls, and the tribunal held that in all the circumstances, … Read more
New Services Code of Practice A draft revised Services, public functions and associations: Statutory Code of Practice (gov.uk) was laid before Parliament in May 2026, and is likely to take effect very soon: Draft services Code of Practice laid in Parliament (equalityhumanrights.com), 21 May 2026. I’ve added the draft to Guidance and Codes of Practice: Equality Act 2010. … Read more
The claimant applied for a safety-critical job in the rail industry. He needed a Sentinel card from Network Rail for this, which required a drug and alcohol test. He was taking medical cannabis for an incurable medical condition. The company which tested him uploaded a ‘fail’ to the Network Rail website, but the employment tribunal … Read more