Karen Moss considers the evolution of discrimination arising from disability under s 15 of the Equality Act 2010
- The president of the Employment Appeal Tribunal gave important guidance on how tribunals should approach discrimination arising from disability in Pnaiser.
The evolution of the law relating to discrimination arising from disability under s 15 of the Equality Act 2010 (EqA 2010) from the previous incarnation of ‘disability-related discrimination’ under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA 1995) has considerably widened the protection given to employees. When Baroness Hale gave her judgment in Lewisham London Borough Council v Malcolm [2008] 1 AC 1399, [2008] All ER (D) 342 (Jun) (interpreting disability-related discrimination differently to the rest of the House of Lords) she outlined a four-stage test for disability-related discrimination and introduced an element of ‘remoteness’ to s 5(1) of DDA 1995 (applicable at the time).
The four stages set out by Lady Hale were: (a) what is the treatment complained of?; (b) what was the reason for that treatment?; (c) did that reason relate to the disabled person’s disability?; and (d) was the treatment less favourable
