Reasonable adjustments – when to delay the decision to dismiss

The Tribunal failed to consider whether delaying the dismissal of a disabled employee until the merger was completed would have been a reasonable adjustment.

In the case of Cairns v Royal Mail Group, the Claimant, a postal delivery worker suffering from a knee injury and osteoarthritis, was dismissed after he could no longer perform his outdoor duties. Although he was temporarily reassigned to an indoor role, the Respondent initiated a consultation for ill-health retirement due to the lack of permanent indoor vacancies, ultimately leading to his dismissal.

The Claimant challenged the dismissal as unfair, arguing that the Respondent’s failure to retain him until a planned merger, which would have created new indoor roles, amounted to a failure to make reasonable adjustments and discrimination arising from his disability.

The employment tribunal initially rejected these claims, asserting that the Respondent was justified in ending the surplus indoor role.  On appeal, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) sided with the Claimant on the discrimination issue. It held that the tribunal had placed too much emphasis on the situation at the time of dismissal, failing to consider whether it would have been a reasonable adjustment to delay the dismissal until after the merger. The EAT concluded that the dismissal was discriminatory and unjustified, particularly in light of the forthcoming indoor roles.

For employers this decision will mean that their HR teams will need to be aware of any planned mergers or acquisitions which might lead to opportunities for disabled employees before they conclude that there are no more opportunities for them and move to dismissal.

Please get in touch if you have any questions regarding the issues discussed in this article.

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