Disability and Adjusting Pay

Aleem v E-Act Academy Trust Limited UKEAT/0099/20/RN and UKEAT/0100/20/RN

Facts

The Claimant was employed as a teacher. The Claimant suffered with mental health illness which amounted to a disability. They moved to an alternative role as a cover-supervisor which would have paid less. For three months, the Claimant's pay was protected at the higher rate. The Respondent was at pains to point out that this was temporary during the probation period of this new role.

Occupational Health advice indicated that the Claimant would be unfit to continue the teaching role but could continue in the supervisor position. The Respondent offered the Claimant the supervisor job, but now at the lower rate of pay. The Claimant brought a claim for, amongst other claims, failure to comply with the duty to provide reasonable adjustments. The Tribunal rejected that the failure to continue to pay the Claimant at the higher rate amounted to a failure to comply with the duty.

Decision

The EAT rejected the appeal. The EAT accepted the Tribunal’s finding of fact that the Respondent had made clear that this was a temporary arrangement. The Respondent was not obliged to the pay the Claimant's the higher rate and the Claimant had accepted the job offer on the lower pay.

The Tribunal had not been wrong to take into account the serious financial pressures that would have been inflicted on the Respondent had it been required to pay the higher amount indefinitely when considering that such an adjustment was unreasonable.