Being treated unfairly at work because of a health condition or disability is something no employee should have to accept. Whether your employer has ignored your requests for support, handled your absence in a way that singles you out, or made unacceptable decisions about your role following a diagnosis, our disability discrimination solicitors can help you understand whether your employer has breached their legal duties and what you can do about it.
Paul Doran Law acts exclusively for employees and claimants. We have over 30 years of experience in employment law and have advised workers across England and Northern Ireland on some of the most complex and sensitive discrimination cases. We are here to help you from the moment you first suspect something is wrong, through to the conclusion of your case.
Does your condition count as a disability?
Many people who contact us are unsure whether their condition qualifies as a disability under the law, and a significant number are surprised to find that it does. In both GB and Northern Ireland, a disability is defined as a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on your ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. Long-term means the condition has lasted, or is likely to last, at least twelve months.
The definition is deliberately broad. Conditions that commonly qualify include depression, anxiety disorders, chronic pain, irritable bowel syndrome, long COVID, epilepsy, diabetes, cancer, HIV and multiple sclerosis. Cancer, HIV, and MS are treated as disabilities from the point of diagnosis, with no need to satisfy the long-term test.
Conditions that fluctuate, or that are well-managed with medication, can also qualify; the question is assessed by reference to how the condition would affect you without treatment. We can help you work through whether your condition meets the legal threshold before you take any further steps.
Your employer’s duty to make reasonable adjustments
Employers carry a positive legal duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled employees. Where a working practice, a physical feature of the workplace, or any other provision puts a disabled employee at a substantial disadvantage compared to a colleague without that disability, the employer is required to take reasonable steps to remove or reduce that disadvantage.
What is reasonable will always depend on the circumstances, but adjustments that may be considered reasonable include:
- Changing start and finish times to accommodate medical appointments or fatigue
- Allowing a phased return to work following a period of ill health
- Permitting regular rest breaks or a quiet workspace for employees with conditions affecting concentration
- Redeploying an employee to a different role where their disability prevents them from continuing in their current one
- Providing specialist equipment, such as ergonomic furniture, adapted keyboards, or screen-reading software
- Modifying absence management procedures so that disability-related absences are not counted against the employee
- Allowing home working where the commute or the office environment aggravates the condition
Employers frequently underestimate what the duty requires of them, and a refusal to adjust, or an adjustment that does not go far enough, can give rise to a claim in its own right. We can help you challenge an employer who has fallen short of what the law demands.
What types of disability discrimination exist?
The law recognises a number of distinct forms of disability discrimination. They include:
- Direct discrimination, where you are treated less favourably than a non-disabled comparator because of your disability
- Discrimination arising from disability, where your employer treats you unfavourably because of something connected to your disability, such as a high absence record or a need to work reduced hours, and cannot objectively justify that treatment
- Indirect discrimination, where a policy or practice that applies to everyone in the workplace puts disabled employees at a particular disadvantage
- Harassment, where behaviour related to your disability creates a hostile, degrading, or humiliating environment
- Victimisation, where you are subjected to a detriment because you have raised a complaint, supported a colleague in doing so, or indicated that you intend to take action
- A failure to make reasonable adjustments, as described above
Several of these may apply to the same set of facts. We can help you identify the most appropriate basis for a claim and advise on which approach is likely to achieve the best outcome.
Do you need to show financial loss?
No. This is an important point that causes many people to hesitate before seeking advice. Unlike some other employment claims, disability discrimination does not require you to demonstrate a financial loss in order to recover compensation. Even if you have kept your job and your pay has not been affected, you may still be entitled to a significant award for injury to feelings, reflecting the distress the treatment has had on you.
Where there has been financial loss, for example, through lost earnings following a dismissal, a missed promotion, or a period of unpaid leave, those losses are claimed in addition to the injury to feelings award. Where the discrimination has caused or contributed to a recognised psychiatric condition, a further award for personal injury may also be available. Crucially, there is no cap on compensation in disability discrimination cases.
Time limits and procedure
In England, Scotland and Wales a claim must be presented to the Employment Tribunal within three months of the act complained of, or the last act in a continuing course of conduct. Before doing so, you must notify ACAS, which triggers the early conciliation process. Engaging with ACAS is not compulsory, but the Tribunal will not accept a claim without an early conciliation certificate. The three-month period is paused while the ACAS process runs.
In Northern Ireland, claims are brought before the Industrial Tribunal under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. The same three-month time limit applies. The Labour Relations Agency provides a pre-claim conciliation service in Northern Ireland that mirrors the ACAS process in England.
In both jurisdictions, you should also raise the matter through your employer’s internal grievance procedure before proceedings are issued. Failing to do so can reduce any compensation awarded.
Our disability discrimination solicitors can help you navigate every aspect of the procedural requirements, from when you first raise the issue with your employer through to issuing legal proceedings where necessary.
How our disability discrimination solicitors can help
If you are living with a disability and your employer has failed to support you, treated you differently, or made decisions about your role that you believe are connected to your condition, the law may well be on your side. If you are unsure of your legal position, speak to us. Our disability discrimination solicitors will be happy to talk through your case and give you a steer on whether it gives rise to a compensation claim.
We offer every client a free initial consultation with one of our employment law solicitors, with no obligation to proceed. To arrange yours, call us on 0808 168 7288 or contact us through our website.