Many court decisions have a separate page on this website. These are listed below and on the following pages (see links at the bottom). A separate page lists only cases on stammering.
Rentokil Initial UK v Miller
The claimant was no longer able to do his job, due to his disability. The employer considered him not suitable for an alternative role, but a employment tribunal held it would have been a reasonable adjustment to offer him a trial period in it. The EAT upheld the tribunal decision,…
Abrahart v University of Bristol: oral assessments led to suicide
A university was held liable under the Equality Act. It had insisted on continuing with oral assessments of a physics student who had depression and social anxiety disorder. She committed suicide on the day when she was to be part of a group giving an assessed conference presentation. The High…
Glasson v The Insolvency Service: Employer not required to adjust interview as unaware of disadvantage
The claimant’s answers in an interview were not full enough, as he limited them due to his stammer. He called this his “restrictive mode”. The employer knew of his stammer. However, the tribunal found the employer did not have actual or constructive knowledge of the disadvantage. The tribunal therefore rejected…
Williams v Newport City Council
A social worker had been traumatised by an experience in court. The employer introduced a requirement that she attend court if necessary. As a result she went off sick with stress. The EAT held she was disabled within the EqA even if attending court was not a normal day-to-day activity….
M v Manchester Rusk Co
The employment tribunal found that the claimant’s stammer was not a disability within the Equality Act. The burden of proof was on the claimant, and he had not presented sufficient evidence to show that his stammer had a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his ability to carry out normal…
A v Qualasept
The claimant had a stammer and type II diabetes. He was dismissed after a probationary period. Issues were his attendance, communication style (eg tending to argue, upset people), and pace of work. The employment tribunal rejected his claims for race and disability discrimination. As regards his stammer, the tribunal found…
A v Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust
The claimant’s current role in the NHS involved many phone calls, and his employer had allowed reasonable adjustments in respect of his stammer. Another NHS employer withdrew its job offer for a role which was similar (albeit the calls could be more challenging), saying it could not accommodate his stammer…
McCue v Glasgow City Council
A man with Down’s Syndrome received social care from his local council, under Scottish legislation. The council had a policy on what disability-related expenditure it would deduct in assessing his ability to pay charges for his care. The Supreme Court held that the failure of the council to adopt a…
Toplak and Mrak v Slovenia
The two applicants were wheelchair users. They claimed to the Strasbourg court that their local voting facilities were not sufficiently accessible, so that there was discrimination contrary to the European Convention of Human Rights. Their claims for reasonable accommodation failed. For a 2015 referendum, the physical premises were accessible, and…
Lárusson v Iceland
The ECtHR in Strasbourg rejected a claim by a wheelchair user that failure to make two cultural buildings in his municipality accessible was a breach of Article 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The ECtHR said this was an exceptional case where his lack of access to public…
R (SC) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The Supreme Court held that legislation limiting tax credit to the first two children in a household is not unlawful discrimination contrary to Article 14 of the European Convention of Human Rights. The legislation was justified. This Supreme Court decision is important in clarifying (at least for the UK courts)…
D v Nottingham Squash Rackets Club
The claimant had a stammer and other disabilities. He went off work with stress due to how he was treated (not related to his disabilities). While he was still off work, he and two other members of staff were made redundant due to the Covid-19 pandemic. His tribunal claims for…
T v Ministry of Defence
An employment tribunal held that under the Human Rights Act, the Equality Act (EqA) must be re-interpreted to permit a claim where disability discrimination occurs after discharge from the armed forces. However, this decision has now been overruled by the EAT in L & Dunn v Ministry of Defence. 2021,…
Department of Work and Pensions v Boyers
When an employer is seeking to justify a dismissal under s.15 EqA (discrimination arising from disability), does it matter that the procedure leading up to the dismissal is unsatisfactory? The EAT here held that it is the outcome, the dismissal, that must be justified rather than the process or procedure…
W v TJ Morris (t/a Home Bargains)
The claimant had spinal issues and a stammer. Among other things she alleged that the store manager would not allow her to put her case to him, by speaking over her and completing her sentences. It was undisputed that she was disabled, and the tribunal held that as regards the…
