Disability Discrimination

Disability discrimination is a complicated area of law which means that many solicitors are unable to take cases in this field. However, because we practice only employment law, we can provide specialised advice and representation at extremely competitive rates. Our team is led by James Medhurst, a disability rights campaigner, who has written articles for the New Statesman on disability issues, and has a high level of understanding of the needs of disabled clients. He is very knowledgeable about the law and writes the Employment Law Advocates blog. He also contributes to the Daniel Barnett Newsletter, an e-mail service which provides updates on employment law cases and is sent to over 25,000 employment law practitioners.

Our team has a considerable amount of experience of running disability discrimination cases for both employees and employers at the Employment Tribunal and the Employment Appeal Tribunal. We also frequently represent disabled people, independent living associations and disability charities who are sued by their own employees. It is regrettably common for claims for unfair dismissal to be brought by personal assistants and carers and we are able to advise about dealing these matters as well as providing advice about how to get all of the necessary paperwork in order so that these problems can be prevented from happening in the first place.

Reasonable Adjustments

Employers have a duty to make sure that adjustments are made to the workplace in order to accommodate the needs of disabled employees. This can include introducing lifts and ramps for wheelchair users, screen readers for blind employees and sign language interpretation for deaf employees as well as other specialised equipment such as orthopaedic chairs for people with back problems, the use of flexible working arrangements and the alteration of job roles.

As a result of some recent developments in disability discrimination law, the issue of reasonable adjustments has become more important. For example, it is now unlawful to dismiss someone in circumstances in which there were adjustments that should have been made that could have prevented the dismissal. A failure to give somebody a job because of a disability, if there is an adjustment which would allow them to do it, would usually also qualify as discrimination.

However, Employment Tribunals require a lot of evidence to be persuaded and these cases require a lot of preparation in order to maximise the chances of success. At Employment Law Advocates, we shall begin to gather the necessary evidence at an early stage. For example, if a person is warned that they are likely to be dismissed, we will begin the process of preparing for the case before the dismissal takes effect. In some cases, this can make the employer think twice about taking the course of action but, even if it does not, it means that there is going to be enough evidence before the tribunal to show that the dismissal could have been avoided.

Even if you have not been dismissed or have not been turned down for a job because of your disability, you are still entitled to have reasonable adjustments made in your workplace. We can assist you with writing to your employer and using the grievance procedure if necessary.

We are also able to advise employers who have received requests for reasonable adjustments from their employees. If there is a reason why adjustments cannot be made, we can make sure that there is sufficient evidence before the Employment Tribunal to prove that this is the case.

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020 7489 2165
info@employmentlawadvocates.com

Employment Law Advocates
Hamilton House
1 Temple Avenue
London
EC4Y 0HA