Discrimination arising from disability: withdrawal of job offer over epilepsy

An employer did not commit discrimination arising from disability against a job applicant whose job offer to work at a railway station was withdrawn after health and safety concerns over his epilepsy, an employment tribunal has held. Stephen Simpson rounds up recent tribunal decisions.

Withdrawal of job offer because of epilepsy not disability discrimination
The tribunal in Corry v Merseyrail Electric 2002 Ltd found that the employer did not commit discrimination arising from disability and met its reasonable adjustments duty.

Mr Corry was offered a job working in a railway station, conditional on passing a medical. His CV stated that he suffers from epilepsy.

The conclusion from the medical was that, while Mr Corry was fit to work, he should not work alone, or be allowed to work trackside.

The employer’s HR department considered the medical report, the nature of the job, and the potential adjustments that could be made.

HR decided that the cost and practical difficulties made it impossible to recruit Mr Corry when 90% of the job involved lone or trackside working.

The HR department withdrew the job offer made to Mr Corry, who brought a disability discrimination claim.

The employment tribunal dismissed Mr Corry’s claims for disability arising from discrimination and failure to make reasonable adjustments.

The tribunal concluded that the suggested adjustments were either prohibitively expensive or would not necessarily reduce the safety risk. Suggestions included employing a companion for him and deploying him in a large station where assistance would be more readily available during a seizure.

Read more details of the case and the full judgment…

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Unison secures employment tribunal win for careers advisers
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Amigo Loans discriminated against part-time working mum, tribunal rules
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Postman’s petition gains a sackload of supporters
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