The Labour Court awarded a worker €49,900 after finding that his employer discriminated against him on disability grounds when its conduct led him to resign. The determination was signed on 5 January 2005.
The worker had about 14 years’ service. After he left hospital, he was advised he could return to work, preferably in stages, but the employer initially did not let him return. When he did return, he was told he could no longer deal with clients and that his work would be monitored. The Court found the employer failed to do all that was reasonable to accommodate a phased return and that the evidence did not support restricting his client work because of memory loss.
The Court found the employer’s conduct destroyed trust and confidence and was unreasonable enough to justify the worker’s resignation. It held that the resulting dismissal was on disability grounds and constituted discrimination. The award included €41,900, equal to one year’s pay, for economic loss and €8,000 additional compensation.