An Equality Officer awarded a worker €17,524 after finding that a retailer constructively dismissed him on the ground of an imputed disability. The decision was dated 7 December 2011. The award, equal to one year’s pay, covered discrimination and lost earnings.
The worker said the retailer would not let him return after his doctor certified him fit for work in March 2008. The retailer disputed his account and said he had ended his employment. It did not attend the hearing, although the officer was satisfied it knew about it.
The officer found that the retailer treated the worker as having a disability and that its failure to let him return made his resignation a discriminatory dismissal. The conditions-of-employment complaint failed because the disciplinary action was not connected to disability. The victimisation complaints failed because there was no evidence of action linked to his legal proceedings. The reasonable-accommodation complaint also failed because the worker had not shown that accommodation was needed or requested.