Case highlights nuances in discrimination for a disability

Disabled employees are protected from unfair treatment by their employer for a reason to do with their disability. Unfavourable treatment will amount to discrimination unless it can be objectively justified. So, for example, if an employee takes sick leave because of their disability, they shouldn’t be treated unfairly because of that, unless the employer can justify their actions.

Bodis v Lindfield Christian Care

In the case of Bodis v Lindfield Christian Care Home, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) had to decide if an employer’s decision to dismiss an employee with anxiety and depression could be considered discrimination, even if it was influenced only slightly by something arising from the employee’s disability.

The employee suffered from depression and anxiety. The employer fired her following several incidents she was responsible for, such as drawing on photos of female staff, spilling reed diffusers, and turning off the boiler.  They blamed her short and evasive answers at interview as part of the reason that the matter went forward to disciplinary.

The original tribunal dismissed the employee’s claims of unfair dismissal and discrimination arising from a disability, but they agreed that the uncooperative way she answered questions in the investigation meeting arose from her disability. They also acknowledged that her disability had influenced the decision to take the matter to a disciplinary hearing.

However, they said that as it had only been a ‘trivial’ influence and not the ‘effective cause’, the decision to dismiss her did not ‘arise from’ the conduct.

The EAT said that the ‘something arising’ can still be minor component of the reason for the treatment provided it is an ‘effective cause’. Here it was clearly one of the causes. However, the appeal still failed as the tribunal had made it clear that the Respondent’s decision to take the matter to disciplinary was justified in any event.