Lifting boxes at work day-to-day can fall within the Equality Act for a disability

Are 'warehouse operations', such as manually lifting and moving cases of up to 25 kg, 'normal day-to-day activities' for the purposes of disability under the Equality Act 2010?

Yes, held the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) overturning an employment tribunal's decision in a recent case Banaszczyk v Booker.

The Claimant, a picker in a distribution centre, had been found not to be disabled at a preliminary hearing. The Employment Judge, having accepted medical evidence regarding the Claimant's long-term back condition, considered that it did not have a substantial adverse effect on his carrying out 'normal day-to-day activities' as its impact was limited to manual lifting of items of up to 25kg at work, which the Employment Judge regarded as not being a 'normal day-to-day' activity.

The EAT disagreed, noting that the scope of 'normal day-to-day activities' extended to warehouse work (and work generally). So, on the evidence accepted by the employment tribunal, the only conclusion was that the Claimant was a disabled person.

If you have an employee who has a disability and you would like to discuss this in more detail, contact us 01245 261883

Gender Pay Gap

New UK regulations will be in place by Spring 2016 requiring employers with 250 or more employees to publish their gender pay gap. Mandatory reporting is expected by April 2017 at the latest.

Changing terms of employment contracts

The difficult negotiations over the new contract for junior doctors highlight a tricky issue for employers: when you want to change your staff's employment contracts and they won't agree to the changes, what can you do?  Imposing the new contract in the absence of agreement could result in claims for constructive dismissal or breach of contract.  However, the usual solution (dismissing the employee and re-employing them on the new terms) is often not much better, as the employee could bring an unfair dismissal claim if they don't accept the new terms.

  

So what can employers do?   The best way to avoid this problem is to have well-drafted contracts (with built-in flexibility) from the outset. But when you do need to make changes, make a persuasive case, make staff feel that the consultation is genuine.  If you can't get agreement and need to consider dismissing and re-engaging, make sure you explain in writing and very clearly why the change is essential from a business perspective and how you have tried to minimise any negative impact on staff – it is important to have a robust paper trail as this is essential for defending any unfair dismissal claims. 

In our experience staff often decide to accept such changes, even if they're not thrilled about them.  Treating the staff fairly during the consultation process is often the best way to preserve the working relationship.

If you need advice on changing existing employment contracts, please contact us so we can provide you with more information on 01245 261883