DDA - Important Authority - Malcolm to apply in Employment Cases

As you will no doubt remember in August 2008 I reported on the landmark decision of the House of Lords in London Borough of Lewisham v Malcolm (“Malcolm”). This was a housing case which which turned disability discrimination law onto its head and made it extremely difficult for a claimant to succeed in a claim of Direct Disability Discrimination.

Employment Lawyers and ultimately HR professionals have been waiting with baited breath to see whether or not the lower courts would interpret Malcolm within an employment context and today at 10.30am today we had our answer.

The EAT have handed down their judgement in Child Support Agency v Truman; they held that the comparators in Malcolm do apply in employment cases and this judgement must be followed in future cases. Whilst this in my view was predictable this hammers home any final nails in the coffins for claimants.

The EAT did not however consider the impact of Malcolm on the phrase "for a reason which relates to the person's disability" - this will have to await another case.

If you have any further questions on this matter then please contact me on gda@hrlegalpartners.com