Disability Discrimination: Big Awards
If you’ve been discriminated against at work due to your disability, you can make a claim under the Equality Act 2010, and could recover significant compensation. That’s what happened to employees in these recent cases.
Case study 1: Prison officer awarded £445,000
In March 2019, Mr Mullinger began working as Band 3 prison officer at HMP Holme House, a category B prison in Stockton-on-Tees.
He suffered from a musculoskeletal issue with his feet. For this reason, he took occasional short-term sick leave between February 2020 and June 2021. Following a formal diagnosis, he had Occupational Health referrals in August and November 2021 which assessed him fit for work. In 2022, the foot condition led to periods of restrictive duties, and his occasional sickness absence continued.
While on holiday in November 2022, Mr Mullinger had a seizure, and was diagnosed with epilepsy on 11 January 2023. He told his manager about his condition. As a result, he was placed on restricted duties from 16 January, working as Band 2 operational support.
On 26 January, OH reported him fit for work with adjustments, suggesting he could return to full duties after he was seizure-free for six months. He remained at work after this, apart from an MRI appointment and two days off sick with a migraine.
On 14 March, Mr Mullinger had a formal attendance review meeting with his manager, Ms Davies, and the prison’s governing governor, Mr Ormerod, during which he was accompanied by his union rep, Mr Storey.
The 30-45 minute meeting was held:
- To summarise Mr Mullinger’s past absences
- To consider his likely fitness to return to full duties
- If not, what action would be necessary to resolve the situation, for example, a re-grade or dismissal
Mr Mullinger explained that the foot problem was now resolved, the migraines were due to epilepsy, and that he could take measures to prevent further seizures, as reflected in the OH report.
However, he received a dismissal-with-notice letter later that day, stating concerns over the sickness absences, and the inability to work alone or carry keys in case he had a seizure while on duty and a prisoner took them.
His appeal was dismissed. He therefore made a claim at the employment tribunal.
Employment judge, Aspden, found the Ministry of Justice failed to comply with its duty to make reasonable adjustments and allow time for the right dose of medication to optimise Mr Mulligan’s epilepsy. Also, they told him what he couldn’t do, rather than consulting him about what he could do, and when. His dismissal was judged to be discrimination arising from his disability.
Mr Mullinger’s claims for failure to provide reasonable adjustments, discrimination arising from disability and unfair dismissal all succeeded, and he was awarded £444,960 made up of a basic award, loss of past and future earnings and pension, interest and grossing up.
Case study 2: Teacher awarded £137,000
In September 2020, Annika Robinson started a 12-month contract, working for the Middlesex Learning Trust as the design and technology tutor at Southgate School in Enfield, North London. Her salary was £47,600 per year.
In October 2020, Ms Robinson contracted Covid-19 and took time off on sick leave. Later, she had a further absence because of sciatica, and provided a fit note to cover this.
The following month, she had surgical discectomy (treatment on her back) and was away on sick leave for five months. She returned in March 2021 on a phased return to work. In April, she had further sickness absence due to migraines.
The Trust held a review, and decided that Ms Robinson’s contract should not be renewed at the end of the academic year. She was invited to a meeting with six members of school staff, where:
- The headteacher allegedly said: “It would be easy to be cynical in that (her) return to work from her back operation coincided with when she was due to go to half pay and that she returned to work for a few days before going off with ill health again.”
- Senior deputy head Paul Ferrie added: “Both students and colleagues have suffered as a result of (her) absence.”
Ms Robinson’s contract ended in August, and she filed claims for disability harassment, disability discrimination and failure to make reasonable adjustments. She described the comments as ‘extremely disrespectful’ and ‘disgusting’.
Her case was heard at the Watford Tribunal Court, where Employment judge, Mr Partington, awarded her damages for harassment relating to disability totalling £137,000. Her other claims were dismissed.
The court recommended that the Trust implement disability awareness training for its senior management staff.
Case study 3: Police officer awarded £43,000
PC Gemmell worked at Police Scotland. She had an accident in 2014 that left her with neuralgia – a nerve condition which is aggravated by cold weather and caused her pain when travelling long distances by car.
In 2016, she was removed from frontline policing and moved to the service delivery unit (SDU), a team that handles leave requests and organises resources for events such as football matches and protests.
Adjustments were put in place in 2019, allowing her to take time off in snowy or icy weather.
The SDU was originally based at Govan police station in Glasgow, but the rest of the team moved to Stewart Street in 2021. PC Gemmell remained at Govan because of the journey.
From 7 September to 14 October 2022, PC Gemmell was absent from work due to stress. While on leave, she messaged managers about finding a new office, because otherwise she’d be working alone in a large room. She also asked for an referral to Occupational Health (OH), which didn’t happen.
The weather was cold on the morning of 16 December 2022, and PC Gemmell was due to start her shift at 2pm. She emailed Sergeant McBlane, describing herself as being in “high pain” and stating that she was going to struggle with forcing herself into work that day.
Sgt McBlane said he’d spoken to Inspector Gow (head of the SDU), hoped PC Gemmell could make it in, but if not, she should follow the normal absence reporting process.
She replied saying she had no choice but to phone in sick. Because of her shift roster, she didn’t return to work until 21 December.
During this time, she informed her Police Federation rep, Ian Florence, about issues with her supervisors in relation to her disability and adjustments. Ian spoke to Inspector Gow to suggest arranging a “disability passport” to avoid her having to explain her adjustments each time she had a new manager.
On 21 December 2022, Inspector Gow and Sergeant McBlane attended Govan to meet PC Gemmell for a return-to-work interview. Neither she nor her rep had been informed of this in advance.
During the two-hour meeting, Inspector Gow said that supervisors found her a problem to manage, people couldn’t work with her, colleagues didn’t like her, and she had an adverse effect on them. He also said she was taking up too much of his time, having spent two days in meetings and calls about her when he had a division to look after.
PC Gemmell went off sick that day and didn’t return. She raised a grievance about the events, which was heard by Police Scotland but not upheld.
She therefore claimed direct disability discrimination and victimisation at the employment tribunal.
Employment Judge O’Donnell dismissed her direct discrimination claims, saying there was “no evidence at all” that someone without her disability would have been treated differently.
However, the panel were satisfied that the loss of wages caused by her absence from work was because of victimisation, that the return-to-work meeting was “an ambush” because she was given no chance to prepare, and that: “It is difficult not to see a degree of vindictiveness in the comments made to the claimant.”
She was awarded £28,100 in lost wages with interest of £2,910, plus £10,000 for injury to feelings with interest of £2,070. The total award was £43,100.
She remains employed by Police Scotland.
What this means to you
If you are diagnosed with a disability, your employer should make reasonable adjustments for you. This might mean changing responsibilities such as your duties or working hours, or practical measures such as moving your parking spot or where you sit.
If you’re called to a disciplinary hearing, you’re allowed to bring someone with you (such as your union rep). Also, your employer should tell you in advance the reason for the meeting, and how many people to expect on the panel. In Annika’s case, the fact that she had to face eight people including the Head, Deputy Head and six colleagues, formed part of the behaviour that amounted to harassment, as did the fact that she had no time to prepare.
You’re protected by the Equality Act 2010, so managers and colleagues shouldn’t make inappropriate remarks to do with your health and disability.
The law is affected by what is stated in writing, so you’ll need to keep your GP fit notes as well as OH reports, emails, and written records of who said what and when. Also, check your employment contract or staff handbook, and follow your employer’s sickness absence procedure to the letter.
If you’ve been mistreated at work because of your disability, let us know. We are employment lawyers who have offices in Northern Ireland and England, and act for employees across the whole of the UK.
The initial call is free and with no obligation. Get in touch to tell us your story, and we’ll let you know what to do next and your chances of winning.
Related reading
For more information, you might like to read our related articles. These include:
- I’ve been dismissed and I’m disabled
- Disability laws in Great Britain and Northern Ireland
- Disability discrimination: Big settlements
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