UK disability discrimination law and stammering / stuttering
The Court of Appeal held it was not disability discrimination on the facts to refuse to send an employee on an assignment to Dubai because of high medical risk. The case is of interest on direct disability discrimination (page not yet updated) – it is not enough that the reason for less favourable treatment is … Read moreOwen v Amec Foster Wheeler Energy
For the first time, an appeal court has upheld a claim that (direct) discrimination because the claimant was perceived to have a disability is unlawful under the Equality Act. The claimant did not need to show she actually had a disability. The court also discussed the boundaries of direct discrimination. (More on Perceived disability). June … Read morePerceived disability: Chief Constable of Norfolk v Coffey
Regulations say that a tendency to physical abuse cannot be a disability under Equality Act 2010. It had therefore been held that an autistic child with a tendency to lash out could not claim under the EqA when he was excluded from school. The court held this regulation is incompatible with Article 14 of the … Read moreC & C v The Governing Body of a School
A claimant who spoke fast, and may or may not have had cluttering or a stammer, was held not to have a disability within the Equality Act. Employment tribunal, June 2017. Full decision: gov.uk. The claimant had a speech disorder manifesting as fast speech. A speech and language therapist suggested it was perhaps ‘cluttering’ or … Read moreM v Mitie Aviation Security
The claimant had ME/CFS, and also dystonia which affected her speech. She referred a complaint against a county council to the Local Government Ombudsman and requested support because of her and her husband’s disabilities, including one or more face-to-face meetings rather than just using email. The Ombudsman lost the request, and turned down subsequent requests … Read moreBlamires v Local Government Ombudsman
A bus company had a policy that if a wheelchair user needed the wheelchair space, the driver would request other passengers to vacate it, but would not require them to. The Supreme Court held that the driver need not actually require the non-disabled passenger to move, but if after making a request the driver considers … Read morePaulley v First Group plc
The court overturned a Northern Irish industrial tribunal decision because the tribunal had not made appropriate adjustments for the claimant’s Asperger’s Syndrome. The tribunal should have paid attention to the Equal Treatment Bench Book. An early ‘ground rules’ case management session should have been convened to meet the specific challenges of his condition. Northern Ireland … Read moreGalo v Bombadier Aerospace
The EAT held that employment tribunals are under an obligation to make reasonable adjustments to accommodate disabled claimants, but sufficient adjustments had been made in the present case. Employment Appeal Tribunal, 2015. Full judgment: bailii.org. In outline The claimant had Asperger’s Syndrome. He had indicated he agreed to certain adjustments to accommodate his Asperger’s, including … Read moreRackham v NHS Professionals
The EAT held that lifting weights in a warehouse up to 25kg was a normal day to day activity, even where the employer expected staff to do it at a particular speed (pick rate). The claimant’s back problem meant he did it significantly more slowly. The impairment therefore had a substantial effect on his ability … Read moreBanaszczyk v Booker
In deciding whether a dismissal (or other act) by a sole decision-maker is direct discrimination, the court looks only at the motivation of that decision-maker. However inputs into the decision, such as reports, could be separate acts of discrimination. Also it is different where a decision was made jointly. 2015, Court of Appeal (bailii.org) The … Read moreCLFIS (UK) Ltd v Reynolds