Increased protection for carers and parents

The ban on discrimination laid down by the Equal Treatment Framework Directive is not limited to disabled people but applies also to their carers, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled.

Alex Lock, employment partner at Beachcroft LLP, says Coleman v Attridge Law is a landmark case and could lead to a significant rise in claims of this kind.

“It signifies an added protection for both carers and parents of disabled children, who already enjoy the right to request flexible working for parents of disabled children under 18 years old,” he says.

The judgment, he says, will serve as a sharp reminder to employers to look at such requests dispassionately and fairly, and not allow any prejudice they may have to influence their decision.

Coleman, who worked as a legal secretary for law firm, Attridge Law, claims her employers treated her less favourably than other employees as a result of her disabled child and that this treatment caused the termination of employment.

She also alleges that she was not allowed to go back to her existing job on her return from maternity leave, she was not allowed the same flexibility as other employees who had non-disabled children, and that abusive and insulting comments were made about her and her child.

The ECJ ruled that the Directive is intended to prohibit direct discrimination or harassment on grounds of disability, even where the person concerned is not disabled themselves. Lock says the knock-on effects of this judgment will be hugely significant. “Until now, it had not been clear whether you could claim direct discrimination by association in relation to disability: this had only been established in relation to race discrimination.”

The Directive, he adds, applies to age, sexual orientation, religion and belief, and disability. “As a result, discrimination by association in any of those areas must also be prohibited.”