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Visually impaired civil servant wins €30k after decade-long fight for suitable laptop

Summary

A senior civil servant with a visual impairment has won €30,000 for disability discrimination after his department's IT team took over a decade to provide him with a suitable work laptop. Paul Hill had developed a visual impairment in his teens and needed assistive technology to perform his work. The tribunal found that the Department of Social Protection had failed to provide him with reasonable accommodation from 2012 to 2024. Mr Hill was left using the same laptop from 2014 to 2021, and the IT team claimed the machine was too old to support the accessibility software. The adjudication officer found that the Department had discriminated against Mr Hill and ordered them to pay €30,000. Adjustments were made, including a new laptop and office modifications, but the exact configuration Mr Hill wanted was not possible for the Department to procure.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Visually impaired civil servant wins €30k after decade-long fight for suitable laptop. Procedural stage: hearing_or_decision

When:

• September 2021 Other
• November 2022 Other
• 2012 to 2024 Other
• 2014 to 2020 Other
• 2012 until 2024 Other
• 2026-04-22 Publication

Case subjects

Topics

Stage Hearing Or Decision

Read the original CNI report