Fair Treatment for Disabled Workers Matters
Throughout October 2024 our Employment Law Team are running our annual campaign Disability Matters to stamp out disability discrimination in the workplace. This year we are concentrating on helping employees who suffer from depression and anxiety in the workplace. We also provide advice to employers on how to best support their staff who are experiencing these issues.
A March 2024 report for the House of Commons Library found over the past ten years, the number of people who have a mental health condition as their main disability has increased by 1.2 million. There has been an even greater increase in people with depression, bad nerves and anxiety, with an increase of over 110% in the last ten years.
Depression and neurodiversity often intersect. The National Autistic Society states that “Research suggests autistic people may be more likely to experience depression than non-autistic people and estimates that it affects up to half of all autistic people at some point in their life.”
This month we won £850k in the Employment Tribunal for one of our clients with autism who was unfairly dismissed and victimised because of his autism. This had a profound effect on his mental health to the extent that the medical expert instructed by both parties found that the discrimination had resulted in him suffering from severe depression and anxiety as well as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
This case met with a vitriolic response from the right-wing press, with the Daily Mail describing the compensation as “staggering” and claiming his dismissal was due to our client “repeatedly making complaints”.
What was not clear from the article was that the reason the injury to feelings award was so high was because of the terrible impact the employer’s discriminatory actions, including victimisation, had on our client.
To find out more about our case, please see our case study about Marcus which summarises what happened to him.
We continue to campaign to stamp out Disability Discrimination throughout October to ensure that employees and employers get the advice they need around ill health and disability at work. Our confidential and free advice line runs on Tuesdays and Thursdays throughout the month – call 01273 609911 from 3.30pm – 5.30pm.
Our campaign includes a virtual seminar for charities and non-profit organisations on Managing Ill Health and Disability, run in partnership with Community Works. This takes place on Thursday 17 October at 10.30am. For more information and to book, see here
We are also holding a free virtual seminar for employee advisers and Trade Union representatives on Disability Discrimination in the Workplace. This runs from 10.30am on Thursday 24 October which you can book here.
By concentrating on depression and anxiety we hope to create a greater understanding of these often hidden conditions so that disability discrimination at work becomes a thing of the past.
For expert advice on disability discrimination at work, contact our Employment Law team on 01273 609911, or email info@ms-solicitors.co.uk
