Follow up

Hilaire v Luton Borough Council

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Impact on others relevant to reasonableness of adjustment

Reasonable adjustments claim

In Hilaire v Luton Borough Council 2022 (see Follow up ), Hilaire (H), who had depression, didn’t attend an interview held as part of a redundancy exercise on a restructuring, saying he was too ill to do so. He was dismissed for redundancy, and brought a reasonable adjustments claim under the Equality Act 2010 , arguing he should have been slotted into a role in the new structure without interview.

Not a reasonable step

The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) held that the reason for H’s non-attendance was unrelated to his disability - he chose not to attend because he thought the redundancy process was just a means of dismissing him. So, his claim failed. Importantly, the EAT went on to observe that, although slotting H into a role without interview was a step which would have alleviated the disadvantage because of his disability (he had problems with memory, concentration and social interaction which would have hindered effective participation in the interview), it would have impacted on other employees involved in the redundancy selection process, so it wasn’t a reasonable step.

Pro advice. A reasonable adjustment isn’t designed to give a disabled employee an advantage over and above removing the disadvantage caused by the relevant provision, criterion or practice.

Hilaire v Luton Borough Council