Alternative roles - A reasonable adjustment for disability

Both a tribunal and a subsequent appeal have found in favour of an employee whose employer’s failure to grant a trial period in an alternative role, before proceeding to a capability dismissal, amounted to a failure to fulfil their duty to provide a reasonable adjustment.

In the case, the claimant Mr Miller was a field-based pest controller with Rentokil. 40% of his role required him to work at heights. However, this no longer become possible after he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.

Rentokil did look for alternative roles for Mr Miller and he was interviewed for a service administrator role. The selection process included both maths and English assessments. However, he was found to have “irrelevant skills and experience for the role” and he was not offered the post. Rentokil did not consider offering the position on a trial basis or provide retraining.

Mr Miller was subsequently dismissed through a capability process after the company decided no further reasonable adjustment could enable him to continue in his existing role.

At tribunal, the judge referred to the EHRC (Equality and Human Rights Commission) Code of Practice which says that transferring a disabled worker to fill an existing vacancy is a step which it might be reasonable for employers to have to take as a reasonable adjustment.

The tribunal found that the failure to trial the employee in the role was a failure to undertake a reasonable adjustment and amounted to disability discrimination.

The tribunal found that Mr Miller would have had a level of knowledge that would have been helpful to someone in the post of service administrator. This was because the post provided direct support to the role Mr Miller had been undertaking for 2.5 years.

The case is an interesting reminder for employers that the duty to consider reasonable adjustments goes wider than looking at changes to an employee’s contractual role and includes a requirement to offer trials in alternative roles.