A Reading Employment Tribunal found that a Solicitor-Judge was discriminated against after the Ministry of Justice, through HMCTS (HM Courts & Tribunals Service), failed to provide reasonable adjustments to the workplace.
Employment Solicitor Chris Dobbs takes a look at this case, discussing the importance of reasonable adjustments for employers.
Case background
EJ Eeley sitting in Reading ruled that Zorina Nadine Clarkson Palomares, an experienced practitioner and fee-paid judge in the Social Security and Immigration Tribunals, was entitled to compensation after experiencing disadvantages while sitting as a judge due to dyslexia.
Disability discrimination & claim
Ms Clarkson Palomares has dyslexia, something the Respondent knew about and acknowledged throughout the length of the Claimant’s service.
It was also accepted that as a result of her condition, Ms Clarkson Palomares experienced difficulties with reading, writing and short-term memory retention.
She had provided the Service with a copy of an educational psychologist report which confirmed the diagnosis and steps taken in her academic career to assist in managing the condition.
The Service as criticised for not acting quickly to make an OH referral and implement recommendations under it including the use of speech-recognition software.
What did the employment tribunal find?
The Tribunal ruled that the MoJ (Ministry of Justice) had failed in its duty to provide both the speech recognition software (initially) and then training on its use for a sustained period.
They also found that the Claimant had been indirectly discriminated against by way of a policy which required certain written statements from judges without providing the tools to allow Ms Clarkson Palomares to do so without facing a disadvantage.
Chris Dobbs’ View
Specialist Employment Solicitor Chris Dobbs says: “This case highlights how even employers we might expect to be up to date with such matters can make mistakes.
The provision of appropriate software is a minor and low-cost adjustment to facilitate easier working for someone with a variety of conditions that can amount to a disability in law.
Employers are under a duty to make ‘reasonable’ adjustments which means they should be undertaking a process to consider possible adjustments before identifying reasons they might be unreasonable.”
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