27/06/2006
UNISON's intouch newsletter (summer 2006) has reported on a recent landmark disability discrimination settlement in which James Stark appeared, instructed by Thompsons solicitors.
The text of the article is reproduced below:
"A [Unison] member working for Wigan MBC has recently recieved £15,000 in a landmark disability discrimination settlement reports regional officer, John Rhodes.
Our member worked for Wigan in a manual roleas a support worker. She suffered from a disability covered by the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and as a result could not carry out her manual duties. Occupational Health recommended that she should be redeployed to a clerical position. But Wigan MBC insists on applicants having a grade C or above and/or at least two years' office experience. As our member had neither, she was unlikely ever to be redeployed and was subsequently dismissed.
We argued that Wigan had directly and indirectly discriminated against her and lodged a Tribunal claim following the outcome in Archbald v Fife Council 2004 IRLR157.
Faced with the inevitable, Wigan settled on the second day of the hearing for £15,000 but not before the Tribunal recommended that Wigan Council should examine and possibly re-draft some of its policies. Our member is currently re-training for a different role for the council."
Source: UNISON intouch, issue 9, summer 2006 (p11)
The claimant was represented by James Stark , instructed by Michelle Cronin of Thompsons solicitors .