Disability
[ch 7: pages 53-54]Under section 15 of the Equality Act 2010, it is unlawful to treat a disabled worker unfavourably for a reason arising from their disability, where the employer knew or should have known the worker was disabled. There is a defence if the unfavourable treatment can be justified as a ”proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim”. To form the basis of a claim, the unfavourable treatment must be due to “something” connected with the individual’s disability. That “something” could be an act of misconduct leading to disciplinary action:
A wheelchair user was dismissed for gross misconduct after losing his temper and shouting racist abuse because he was frustrated that training had been arranged in a room without wheelchair access. Had he not been disabled, he would not have been upset by the decision and would not have lashed out. There was enough of a connection between the disability and the misconduct to trigger rights to protection under section 15, EA 10. The dismissal was unlawful.
Risby v London Borough of Waltham Forest [2016] UKEAT/0318/15/DM
See also page 39: Raising discrimination and page 50: Overlapping disciplinary and grievance procedures.