In a ground-breaking ruling, the Labour Court has awarded almost €60,000 to a man it found was discriminated against because of a psychiatric illness. Carol Coulter, Legal Affairs Correspondent, reports.
It is the first time that the Labour Court has upheld a claim of discrimination on the ground of disability when the disability was a mental illness.
The award was made up of €41,900, which was one year's salary, and two amounts of €8,000, one to compensate for the effects of the discriminatory treatment, and one to compensate for stress and anxiety and to act as a deterrent against future such infractions of the anti-discrimination legislation.
Mr Niall Crowley, the chief executive of the Equality Authority, which supported the man's action, noted the Employment Equality Act had recently been strengthened to oblige employers to make "reasonable accommodation" for employees with disabilities.
This case concerned a man who had worked in a specialist capacity for 14 years with his employer. In April 2002 he was admitted to hospital suffering from psychiatric illness.
He was discharged from hospital in June that year, and was advised by his psychiatrist he could return to work, preferably on a phased basis.
His employer did not allow him return to work. He was eventually allowed to return in October, but told he could no longer deal with clients and his work would be monitored. He felt he was not wanted back at work and resigned.
The Labour Court accepted that the employer was helpful to the employee when he first became ill, but concluded that the employer had a marked reluctance to accommodate the employee in returning to work. It did not accept that the employer "gave any adequate consideration to providing the complainant with the type of special treatment which would have allowed him to resume work following his discharge from hospital", including helping him to return to work on a phased basis.
It also found the employer discriminated against him in not allowing him to return to work between June and October 2002.
"This case is one of the first to raise issues of mental health under the disability ground," said Mr Crowley.
"Significant stigma can all too readily accompany a diagnosis of mental illness. The support an employee receives at a time of such illness can be vital. It can make the difference between either remaining in employment or leaving employment and experiencing an exacerbation of their illness."