Raymond Cairns v The Royal Mail Group Limited
[2024] EAT 129
Rentokil Initial UK Ltd v M Miller
14 March 2024
[2024] EAT 37
Employment Appeal Tribunal
An employee with MS was fired. A judge said the employer should have given him a trial in a new, less physically demanding job. Even though the trial might not have worked, it was still a reasonable thing to try to avoid the employee being fired because of his disability.
Key Facts
- •Mr. Miller, a pest control technician diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS), was dismissed by Rentokil Initial UK Ltd.
- •Various adjustments were made to accommodate his disability, but eventually Rentokil concluded he could no longer perform his role.
- •Mr. Miller applied for a service administrator role but was unsuccessful.
- •The Employment Tribunal found that offering Mr. Miller a trial period in the service administrator role was a reasonable adjustment under the Equality Act 2010.
- •Rentokil appealed this decision.
Legal Principles
Where a disability places an employee at a substantial disadvantage (risk of imminent dismissal), a trial period in a new role can be a reasonable adjustment.
This case
The duty to make reasonable adjustments requires taking steps to avoid the disadvantage. Consultation or medical investigation alone are not adjustments.
Tarbuck v Sainsburys Supermarkets Limited [2006] IRLR 664; Spence v Intype Libra Limited UKEAT/0617/06, 27 April 2007
A trial period is a substantive change, unlike consultation or medical investigation, and can be a reasonable adjustment if it reduces the risk of dismissal.
This case
The burden of proof shifts to the employer to show a proposed adjustment is unreasonable once the employee demonstrates a PCP causing substantial disadvantage and identifies a potentially suitable adjustment.
Project Management Institute v Latif [2007] IRLR 579
Whether an adjustment is reasonable is an objective question for the tribunal; the employer's assessment is not decisive.
This case
Outcomes
Appeal dismissed.
The EAT found no error in the Employment Tribunal's decision. A trial period in a new role can be a reasonable adjustment, and the Tribunal correctly considered all relevant factors, including the employer's concerns and the employee's suitability.
Employment Tribunal's decision upheld.
The Tribunal's finding that offering a trial period in the service administrator role was a reasonable adjustment was supported. The failure to offer such a trial led to almost inevitable dismissal.