Ashman v Sainsburys Supermarkets Limited UKEAT/0252/09/DM

Appeal against decision to award the claimant a basic award, but no compensatory award, for unfair dismissal. Appeal dismissed.

The appellant was made redundant following years of suffering from RSI. The employer made great efforts to accommodate her disability but eventually made her redundant rather than dismiss her on grounds of capability, resulting in more generous terms than if she had been dismissed. The ET found that the claimant had been unfairly dismissed since the job was not redundant, even though the claimant could no longer carry out her duties properly. She was awarded a basic, but no compensatory, award as the ET found that she would have been dismissed fairly on the grounds of capability.

The claimant claimed that the decision of the ET was perverse and:

1) challenged the finding that she would not have consented to giving access to all medical records

2) submitted that the ET had improperly speculated as to the likely effect of medical evidence

3) challenged the finding that she would have been dismissed for capability.

The EAT dismissed all 3 grounds, concluding that the ET had regard to all of the evidence. The claimant never agreed to full disclosure of medical records during employment or court proceedings; without full disclosure proper advice could not be given; and there was ample evidence that justified the ET's decision that she would have been dismissed on medical grounds.

To download the full judgment in Word format, click the link below

Published: 28/01/2010 15:51

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