ECJ Ruling Widens Scope of Discrimination Law

In Colman v. Attridge Law, the European Court of Justice has recently ruled that what is sometimes known as “associative discrimination” is illegal under European law. X may unlawfully discriminates against Y if he treats Y less favourably than he would treat others for a reason connected with Z’s status – e.g. because of Z’s disability or age.

In Coleman, C was a legal secretary employed by AL, a firm of Solicitors. She was the primary carer for her disabled son, who had specialised care needs. It was alleged that when she asked for time off to care for her son, C was accused of being lazy and seeking to manipulate her working conditions. Eventually, C accepted voluntary redundancy and brought a claim for disability discrimination. The Employment Tribunal referred the issue as to whether or not associative discrimination was outlawed under European law to the ECJ.

Now that the ECJ has given its ruling, the case will go back to Employment Tribunal. The Tribunal will have to decide if the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 can be read consistently with European law. If it can, C’s claim can proceed. If it cannot, the Government will have to change the law but that will come too late for C. Public authorities should note, however, that their employees may be able to bring a claim directly based on European law.

If you would like to know more about the implications of this case, please contact Nick Crook.

Filed: 30/07/2008 12:04:48