Ian Smith addresses discrimination & considers a cautionary tale for employees
The most newsworthy decision as at the end of last year was clearly that of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in Kaltoft v Kommunernes Landsforening C-354/13 which received by and large a hostile reception in the press along the lines of “EU says that obese people are disabled”. As always, it is not quite so simple, but it has led also to more considered criticisms in employer and health circles. As it happens, last month also saw a not-dissimilar judgment of the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) on the question of caste discrimination, again raising a myriad of possible implications which will have to be considered in future litigation. The third case considered here again concerns discrimination, this time the requirement to make reasonable adjustments in disability cases, but the difference is that this one may act as a shot across the bows to employees rather than employers, in cases of long-term sickness absence.
