Disability discrimination

The employer’s failure to consult the employee about a medical report before deciding to dismiss him was discriminatory under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and it also made the dismissal unfair.

In many instances someone who is receiving Disability Living Allowance or, for that matter, other incapacity-related benefits, might also fall within the definition of a ‘disabled’ person under the Disability Discrimination Act – but not always.

C, a legal secretary for a firm of solicitors, claimed direct disability discrimination and harassment on the grounds of the disablity of her son, for whom she is the primary carer. C herself is not disabled.

This House of Lords decision, although not an employment case (it concerned housing), is significant for disability discrimination law because the provisions it considered are identical to the employment provisions in the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA). M, a schizophrenic, was evicted when he unlawfully sublet his flat. He claimed this related to his disability and was unlawful.