Offers of alternative work

Case 7: The facts

Mrs Archibald worked for Fife Council as a road sweeper. Following surgery, she was left disabled and unable to do her job, so she undertook training in order to apply for an administrative job with the council. As the jobs were at a slightly higher grade, local government rules said that she had to go through competitive interviews. Despite proving her competence in the training course and attending dozens of interviews, she did not get a job and eventually was dismissed.

Archibald said the council should have transferred her to an admin job without making her attend interviews. The council argued that it had treated her the same as a non-disabled employee, and that it was not required to do any more.

The ruling

The House of Lords held that an employer's obligations to make reasonable adjustments under the DDA could, on occasions, lead it to treat a disabled employee more favourably than a non-disabled one. Removing the requirement for Archibald to attend interviews was a reasonable adjustment that the council could have made, and it should have just transferred her into a post.

Archibald v Fife Council [2004] IRLR 651