Workplace Report December 2004

Features: Law Disability Discrimination

Less favourable treatment

Case 1: The facts

The Home Office offered Mr Pantry a job, and then pursued references and carried out security checks. Pantry had a hearing impairment which caused a delay as medical checks were carried out; by the time these were completed, a recruitment freeze had been imposed and Pantry was not offered the post but put on the reserve list instead.

The ruling

The Employment Appeal Tribunal held that Pantry had been unlawfully discriminated against. Had it not been for the delay caused by the medical checks, which were undertaken because of his disability, he would have been allocated a job before the recruitment freeze began.

Pantry v The Home Office UKEAT/0083/04