When you are claiming failure to make reasonable adjustments at Tribunal, you want to clearly argue that your employer has failed to make a reasonable change to help you to do your job, or apply for a job, to reduce the impact of your disability. For example:
With failure to make reasonable adjustments, your employer can be liable for the acts of its employees, as well as the employees being personally responsible.
You don’t need to attach evidence to a Tribunal ET1 claim, but it’s a good idea to back up your claims by mentioning the evidence you intend to use. For failure to make reasonable adjustments claims, people typically refer to evidence such as policies such as sickness absence policies, doctor’s notes, Occupational Health reports, text messages, emails, letters, meeting notes and witness evidence.
If you’re successful in a Tribunal claim, you will be awarded a “remedy”. This mainly includes financial compensation, like loss of earnings. It can also include some non-financial remedies too.
Some of the key remedies you can ask for at Tribunal are:
As well as the common remedies that you can ask for, discrimination-specific claims also have the option to include an “injury to feelings” remedy. This is compensation which you can be awarded when you have been hurt or distressed because you have been discriminated against.
Injury to feelings is generally awarded within one of three “Vento bands” depending on severity.
For example, Farzana had light sensitivity which amounted to a disability. The Tribunal found that her employer had failed to adjust the surroundings that she worked in, when it would have been reasonable to do so. This impacted not only on Farzana’s work but also on her personal life as well as her physical and mental wellbeing. She was awarded £10,000, plus interest, for injury to feelings.
Summary: a car park worker with sciatica and mobility difficulties was asked to take on additional duties that made her job more difficult with her condition. Her employer had failed to make reasonable adjustments so that she could perform her duties.
Total award: £155,289.40
Outcome: the worker was successful in her claim for failure to make reasonable adjustments, as the company had applied a number of practices that had substantially disadvantaged her. She was also successful in a number of other claims, including constructive dismissal and other types of discrimination claims.
Summary: a shop assistant was born with hip defects which caused them significant problems when walking and generally with their mobility. Their employer failed to allocate them a purely sedentary role after they returned to work following a hip replacement.
Total award: £8,000 plus interest (plus loss of earnings - amount tbc)
Outcome: they were successful in their claim for failure to make reasonable adjustments, as well as claims for discrimination arising from disability due to other issues concerning requiring them to clock in and out for toilet breaks.