Hilaire v Luton Borough Council
Good morning Jaquiline and welcome back to our weekly case law update. Earlier this week we sent out our January update which had features on menopause, discrimination, parental leave during strikes and our seminar.
This week we are looking at redundancy and disability discrimination.
The question this week is:
Does requiring a disabled employee to attend an interview during redundancy consultation process amount to a failure to make reasonable adjustments?
Mr Hilaire, the Claimant, was employed by Luton Borough Council, the Respondent. The Claimant was disabled by way of arthritis and depression. His disability impaired his memory, concentration and sociability. The Respondent commenced a redundancy consultation process which included encouraging those at risk, including the Claimant, to apply for redeployment.
To assist the Claimant in the process, the Respondent gave him extra time to apply for redeployment and assisted him with the application process. The Respondent invited the Claimant to interview for redeployment but Claimant told the Respondent he could not attend due to his health. The Claimant, believing managers were conspiring to dismiss him, refused to attend the interview, stating he would not attend even if fit. The Claimant was subsequently dismissed for redundancy.
The Claimant commenced Employment Tribunal claims including the failure to make reasonable adjustments. The Claimant argued that the Respondent should have slotted him into a redeployment post rather than have to go through applying due to his condition. The Tribunal dismissed the claim finding that requiring the Claimant to attend an interview did not amount to discrimination.
The Claimant appealed. The Employment Appeal Tribunal dismissed the appeal. It did find that the Claimant’s disability did put him at a disadvantage but, even had the Respondent adjusted the process, the Claimant had stated he would not accept redeployment. It went on to add that whilst slotting the Claimant into a new role would have removed this disadvantage, it was not a reasonable adjustment due to the impact it would have on others in the pool.
The Takeaway Point
No, requiring an employee to attend an interview does not necessarily amount to a failure to make reasonable adjustments. Adjustments are there to remove any disadvantages, not to give advantage over others. Slotting the Claimant in would have done more than level the playing field. Perhaps the Respondent could have better adjusted the interview process or allowed written responses to questions instead, but there was not a requirement to slot him into one of the vacant roles.
