Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Disability discriminationDisabilityLatest NewsRecruitment & retentionPre-employment screening

Police officer’s ‘perceived disability’ was discriminatory

by Ashleigh Webber 24 Jun 2019
by Ashleigh Webber 24 Jun 2019 Shutterstock
Shutterstock

It is discriminatory to refuse employment because of a perception that a health condition will affect a person’s ability to work in future, the Court of Appeal has confirmed.

Lisa Coffey was a police officer in Wiltshire Constabulary and suffered from a degree of hearing loss and tinnitus which did not affect her ability to do her job and was not considered a disability under the Equality Act.

Disability discrimination

Sharp rise in disability discrimination claims at tribunals

Discrimination arising from disability: questions remain about “unfavourable treatment”

In 2013 she applied for a transfer to Norfolk Constabulary. She disclosed the hearing loss and the results of a functionality test that showed she was able to perform her existing role. However, the constabulary rejected her application because her hearing fell “just outside the standards for recruitment” published by the Home Office. The constabulary was concerned that the hearing loss would have a substantial impact on Coffey’s ability to perform day-to-day activities in future.

In 2016 she took her claim for direct disability discrimination to an employment tribunal. It found that Norfolk Constabulary had not followed Home Office advice to conduct an individual assessment of Coffey’s ability and had not acted on a recommendation from a medical adviser about the need for an at-work test.

She was awarded £26,616.05 in compensation because, found the tribunal, she had been unlawfully discriminated against on the grounds of “perceived” disability.

Norfolk Constabulary challenged the decision at the Employment Appeal Tribunal, which agreed with the previous judgment that the constabulary had been wrong to reject Coffey’s application for a transfer on the basis she would have been unable to perform her role In future.

The Court of Appeal upheld both decisions. In a judgment published last week, it said there was no evidence that front-line police officers needed to have particularly acute hearing.

Lord Justice Nicholas Underhill said in the decision: “There will be occasions in the course of their duties when it is important that they be able to listen carefully or hear particular sounds (even if not a fly’s footfall), but that is characteristic of many situations both at work and outside it.”

Lord Justice Nigel Davis agreed that it was unlawful to deny Coffey a role at Norfolk Constabulary, as she had been able to perform her daily duties without problems in Wiltshire.

He said: “The claimant had performed entirely satisfactorily in a front-line role in the Wiltshire Constabulary. The (unparticularised) suggestion raised in evidence that front-line duties in Norfolk were somehow different from those in Wiltshire was half-baked and properly rejected by the employment tribunal.

“Furthermore, and in particular, in reaching her decision of 1 April 2014, ACI Hooper [the person who had rejected Coffey’s application] had failed to take into account the highly material Home Office standard and accompanying circular and guidance.”

Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

OptOut
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Coffey continues to work for Wiltshire Constabulary.

D&I opportunities currently on PT Jobs

More D&I jobs

Ashleigh Webber

Ashleigh is a former editor of OHW+ and former HR and wellbeing editor at Personnel Today. Ashleigh's areas of interest include employee health and wellbeing, equality and inclusion and skills development. She has hosted many webinars for Personnel Today, on topics including employee retention, financial wellbeing and menopause support.

previous post
Medicinal cannabis: what HR needs to know
next post
Theresa May considers 12 weeks’ paid paternity policy

You may also like

Connect to Work: how businesses can play their...

2 May 2025

Eight new equality laws in the pipeline

10 Apr 2025

HR and businesses respond to Spring Statement

26 Mar 2025

HMRC worker sent birthday card awarded £25k for...

21 Mar 2025

Disability pay gap reporting could have unintended consequences

19 Mar 2025

What do welfare reforms mean for employers?

19 Mar 2025

One in 10 firms taken to tribunal because...

14 Mar 2025

Disabled workers disadvantaged by return-to-office mandates

13 Mar 2025

Eight in 10 disabled staff feel burnout as...

12 Mar 2025

Why Access to Work can be worth the...

18 Feb 2025

  • 2025 Employee Communications Report PROMOTED | HR and leadership...Read more
  • The Majority of Employees Have Their Eyes on Their Next Move PROMOTED | A staggering 65%...Read more
  • Prioritising performance management: Strategies for success (webinar) WEBINAR | In today’s fast-paced...Read more
  • Self-Leadership: The Key to Successful Organisations PROMOTED | Eletive is helping businesses...Read more
  • Retaining Female Talent: Four Ways to Reduce Workplace Drop Out PROMOTED | International Women’s Day...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2025

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2025 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+