What is Disability Discrimination In The Workplace?

Although discrimination in the workplace on the basis of disability is unlawful in the UK, it can still occur and unfortunately, it is not as uncommon as people may assume for disabled people to be discriminated against whilst at work. Thankfully, The Equality Act 2010 provides protection to employees, contract workers and apprentices alike in this regard and should you be the victim of discriminatory conduct, you may be able to make a claim to the Employment Tribunal. 

In The EA, disability is described as ‘a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on a person’s ability to carry out normal day to day activities’ and it is relatively wide, extending to a range of conditions that might not previously have been viewed as a disability. So, thankfully, these days more often than not, The EA will protect employees. 

Disability discrimination can arise in a wide variety of ways in the workplace, including; direct discrimination, indirect discrimination, victimisation and harassment. It is important to note that discriminatory conduct can be carried out both consciously and unconsciously too. The most common experience of discrimination in the workplace is when an employee is treated less favourably because of their disability and if you are interested in learning more about this type of discrimination, below is an example of a recent case taken to a Liverpool Employment Tribunal.

An example of disability discrimination in the workplace 

Mr Lawton, a disabled IT manager at tech firm Crystal Ball, won a discrimination claim against his boss, Mr Singh. A remedy hearing is yet to take place to decide on money to be awarded.

In February 2019 Mr Lawton’s knee buckled and he started to suffer from constant pain. Following various investigations, he received a diagnosis of complex regional pain syndrome. He had difficulty walking and going up and down stairs caused him pain and real difficulty.

On multiple occasions in June and July 2019, Mr Lawton arrived at work to find that the lift was not working and he had to climb the stairs to the office on the fifth floor, which caused him considerable pain. On the 16th July, Mr Lawton was in so much pain from climbing the stairs the day before that he requested to work from home, which he had done on previous occasions. 

On the 19th July 2019, Mr Lawton exchanged a number of emails with Mr Singh which showed Mr Singh was frustrated by him not being in the office. At this time, Mr Lawton sought advice from ACAS and an equality advice service, which led to him writing a letter to Mr Singh advising him of his rights as a disabled person and making a request for adjustments enabling him to work from home when required. 

At this time, Mr Singh’s attitude towards Mr Lawton changed and there were multiple occasions where he made comments that humiliated Mr Lawton, such as; commenting that he was slow during a fire evacuation drill and questioning the amount of time that he had taken in the toilet. Ultimately, Mr Singh was not happy with the ongoing adjustment to work from home and he was unsympathetic and intimidatory. 

Following a disciplinary investigation on an unrelated matter in November 2019, Mr Lawton lodged a grievance. This grievance complained about discriminatory treatment because of his disability and also how he felt that the company was trying to find a legal way to dismiss

him or push him to resign. After being signed off with stress, Mr Lawton resigned with immediate effect on the 13th of December. His reasons for resigning were in line with the matters raised in his grievance and to the Tribunal.

Speaking to a disability discrimination lawyer in London

If you think that you might be experiencing discrimination arising from disability and you would like to speak to an employment law specialist about your individual circumstances in more detail, please do not hesitate to contact us here at Nationwide Employment Lawyers. We have a team of disability discrimination lawyers in London who will gladly take the time to discuss the discriminatory conduct with you in more detail. Should you wish to take a disability discrimination claim to the Employment Tribunal, this is something that we can assist you with as well and we will shoulder the burden of your employment law issue.