Commission tells Court of Appeal employers should be more 'carer-friendly' to retain staff
13 May 2014 11:05 AM
Employers should, as far as is
reasonable, make adjustments to support members of staff who are caring for
disabled family members, the Equality and Human Rights Commission will tell the
Court of Appeal today.
The case, in which the
Commission is intervening as a third party to assist the court with expert
equality and human rights advice, involves Dr Christine Hainsworth and the
Ministry of Defence (MOD).
Dr Hainsworth worked for the MOD
and was stationed in Germany. She requested a transfer to the UK to enable her
disabled daughter’s special educational needs to be met. However, her
request was refused and she claimed unlawful disability discrimination. Her
claim was previously rejected by the Employment Tribunal and the Employment
Appeals Tribunal.
The Commission, which promotes
and enforces the laws which protect everyone’s right to be treated with
fairness, dignity and respect, will say a failure by an employer to make
changes to working arrangements, known as ‘reasonable adjustments’,
may well have a knock on effect on a carer’s ability to continue work and
on a disabled person’s ability to train, find or retain
work.
The Commission will ask the
court to consider whether EU legislation obliges an employer to make
‘reasonable adjustments’ where they are required to accommodate the
needs of a disabled person who is cared for by the worker; and, if so, whether
EU directives can be read into the Equality Act 2010.
The Commission will also argue
that the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
strongly supports Dr Hainsworth’s case and European law should be
interpreted in the light of the Convention.
Previously the Commission
supported the case of Coleman v Attridge Law at the European Court of Justice
where the Court agreed that Ms Coleman should be given protection even though
the harassment she suffered at work was because of her disabled son rather than
herself. This was not however a case about providing reasonable
adjustments.
Commission Chief Legal
Officer, Rebecca Hilsenrath said:
“Equality and human rights
legislation is here to protect everyone and the duty to make reasonable
adjustments should benefit everyone.
“There are three million
employees in England and Wales who provide huge value and a vital service to
the country as unpaid carers. Many of them look after disabled family
members. Carers also provide value to their employers and research
suggests that a flexible approach to supporting employees with family
responsibilities increases productivity and enhances employee commitment.
In this way, carers achieve a decent work life balance and employers
continue to derive the economic benefit of motivated, experienced
staff.”
For more press information
contact the Commission’s media office on 0161 8298102, out of hours 07767
272 818.
Notes to
Editors
- Dr Christine
Hainsworth v Ministry of Defence
The Equality and Human Rights
Commission is a statutory body established under the Equality Act 2006. It took
over the responsibilities of Commission for Racial Equality, Disability Rights
Commission and Equal Opportunities Commission. It is the independent
advocate for equality and human rights in Britain. It aims to reduce
inequality, eliminate discrimination, strengthen good relations between people,
and promote and protect human rights. The Commission enforces equality
legislation on age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil
partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual
orientation. It encourages compliance with the Human Rights Act and is
recognised by the UN as an ‘A status’ National Human Rights
Institute. It also gives advice and guidance to businesses, the voluntary
and public sectors, and to individuals.