Cases on provision of services

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 Court of Appeal dismissed a claim for reasonable adjustments by a deaf person whose house was searched by the police. He argued they should have brought a sign language interpreter. The Court of Appeal upheld the decision that in this particular case it had been possible to establish effective communication, so there was no … Read moreFinnigan v Northumbria Police

Mental health patients (MHPs) claiming Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) argued that the government is failing to make reasonable adjustments under Equality Act 2010. The Court of Appeal largely upheld an Upper Tribunal judgment which had found MHPs are being put at a substantial disadvantage. (The tribunal had felt unable to decide on current evidence … Read moreMM & DM v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions

The Court of Appeal held that a restaurant did not have to make a reasonable adjustment to allow a disabled family to eat in a picnic area immediately next to the outdoor tables. Whether or not that would be reasonable, it would be a different kind of service. The case was under DDA 1995 rather … Read moreEdwards v Flamingo Land

The Court of Appeal found a bank to be in breach of the reasonable adjustment duty, because its main branch in Sheffield was not accessible to wheelchair users. Even if banking services could be accessed in alternative ways, such as over the internet, the policy of the Disability Discrimination Act was to provide a service … Read moreRoyal Bank of Scotland v Allen

An autistic boy had become ‘stuck’ at the side of a swimming pool, and jumped into the water when approached by police. He ended up being restrained by the police, and put in the cage at the back of a police van. The Court of Appeal upheld a decision that the police had failed to … Read moreZH v The Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis

The Court of Appeal considered the reasonable adjustment duty for service providers. The court said that the policy of the legislation is not a minimalist policy of simply ensuring that some access is available to the disabled. It is, so far as reasonably practicable, to approximate the access enjoyed by disabled persons to that enjoyed … Read moreRoads v Central Trains