Reasonable Adjustments

[Thanks to James Medhurst of Employment Law Advocates for providing this case summary]

The EAT (Cox J) has handed down its decision in Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police v Jelic , which is authority for the proposition that swapping the role of a disabled employee with that of another employee is capable of being a reasonable adjustment for the purposes of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and the Tribunal was entitled to find that such an adjustment ought to have been made. The list of possible adjustments in section 18B(2) of the Act is not exhaustive. There is also no reason why the retirement of an employee on medical grounds and his re-engagement in a new role cannot be a reasonable adjustment although, in this case, the Tribunal had given inadequate reasons for such a finding.

There was no injustice to the Respondent in that proposed adjustments were raised at the "eleventh hour" in circumstances in which there was no objection during the hearing to the Claimant advancing the point, no application was made to recall witnesses and there was nothing to support the submission that there was further evidence that the Respondent would have wished to adduce. Any evidential disadvantage to the Respondent arose from its own failure to consult the Claimant.