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Facts: The employee, a long-serving postman with Royal Mail, became disabled due to osteoarthritis, making it impossible for him to continue working outdoors. He was therefore moved to a supernumerary (temporary) indoor role.
The employee was dismissed a few months later on grounds of ill-health retirement because he could no longer perform his original (outdoor) role and no suitable permanent indoor vacancies were available. The employee’s appeal (which took place a few months later) was unsuccessful – despite a likely merger the next month when new indoor roles were likely to become available.
The employee brought Tribunal claims including disability-related discrimination and failure to make reasonable adjustments.
Tribunal decision
The Tribunal dismissed the claims. It said the employee had not been discriminated against because at the time of his dismissal there were no alternative roles available.
The employee appealed.
EAT decision
The EAT upheld the employee’s claims. By the time of his appeal, the merger was imminent. Royal Mail should have considered what reasonable adjustments it could have made at this point. For example, keeping the employee in the supernumerary indoor role for a few further weeks to try to find him a suitable alternative role after the merger.
The EAT referred the case back to the Tribunal to decide whether Royal Mail’s failure to delay the dismissal (to see if it could offer the employee a suitable alternative role) amounted to a failure to make reasonable adjustments and/or (unjustified) discrimination arising from disability.
Implications: This decision is a reminder to employers to consider all new information, potential reasonable adjustments and disability discrimination implications at all stages of the dismissal process – including at appeal stage. In particular, employers should delay dismissal decisions when a known or likely reorganisation could create suitable alternative roles.
5.0/5