Employers do not owe a duty to make reasonable adjustments for persons who are not disabled, says Spencer Keen
The Court of Appeal has recently confirmed in Hainsworth v MOD [2014] EWCA Civ 763 that the duty to make reasonable adjustments is only owed to disabled employees and that adjustments are not required to be made for employees who are associated in some way with a disabled person.
Hainsworth
The appellant in this case was employed by the British armed forces in a civilian capacity since 30 April 1998. She was an inclusion support development teacher at the relevant time and was required to work from a British Garrison in Germany. Her daughter had Down’s Syndrome and was disabled within the meaning of the Equality Act 2010. Although the respondent provided educational facilities for the children of its employees it did not provide special educational needs facilities. The claimant’s daughter could not therefore receive her schooling from the respondent in Germany.
After a number of informal enquiries the claimant submitted a formal request for a transfer to a facility within the UK so that
