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c/o Council for Disabled Children
National Children's Bureau
8 Wakley Street
London EC1V 7QE
tel +44 (0)20 7843 6082
fax +44 (0)20 7843 6313
[email protected]
Carers given immediate protection against discrimination and harassment at work
1 December 2008
EDCM welcomes tribunal ruling
As reported by Carers UK last week, EDCM welcomes the decision by the Employment Tribunal in London which has ruled that protection for carers against discrimination “by association with disability” can be given under existing UK law. This paves the way for carers, including parents of disabled children, to make immediate claims against their employers if they are treated unfairly.
Following the ruling of the European Court of Justice in July of this year in the case of carer Sharon Coleman, it was not clear whether new legislation would need to be brought in by the UK Government to give carers this protection.
Sharon Coleman is a carer who claimed that she was discriminated against and harassed because she had a disabled son and was treated less favourably than employees whose children weren’t disabled. Sharon Coleman claimed that her former employer, London law firm Attridge Law, refused to allow her to return to the same job after maternity leave, accused her of being “lazy” when she needed to take time off to care for her child and threatened her with disciplinary action.
In July the European Court of Justice ruled that the laws which protect disabled people against discrimination not only apply to the person themselves, but also to their carer.
If new legislation was required it would have meant that protection was only available from the future point at which the new law was brought in to force, and all current claims such as Sharon’s, would have been dropped. Sharon Coleman’s case can now proceed to a full hearing, where the facts of the case will be considered.
EDCM backs Carers UK’s call for carers to be an integral part of the equality agenda and government must make sure they are fully acknowledged in the forthcoming Equality Bill.
Further information about the case can be found on the Carers UK website
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