Nearly £400,000 Awarded in Disability Discrimination Case
By Gail Escolme, 20 July 2011 –
A timely reminder to all employers to treat employees who are off sick with care. In this case, Jewson sacked their branch manager 5 months after he went off sick with a stroke on the basis that they could not make reasonable adjustments to accommodate him as there was no role in the business which would be without stress! This despite the fact that in the two year period prior to his dismissal 204 other employees had been allowed more than 6 months absence and 64 employees more than 12 months absence. In the event the Claimant made a full recovery from his stroke within 11 months of his dismissal.
Result – award of £390,870.58 compensation for disability discrimination and failure to make reasonable adjustments. You have been warned! Come and talk to us before making decisions regarding sickness.