Woman With Disabled Child Awarded Compensation After Being Dismissed

A woman with a disabled child who was discriminated against by her employer in north Belfast has received almost £19,000 in compensation.

Maria McKeith worked as a paid advisor for the Ardoyne Association for 16 hours per week.

She has a disabled daughter, is responsible for her care, and a friend looked after her daughter while she was at work.

Ms McKeith started working there in 2010 and was dismissed in March 2015.

Supported by the Equality Commission, the Tribunal found that there was evidence from which it could conclude that the dismissal was associative direct discrimination within the terms of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 because she was the primary carer for her disabled daughter.

It found that the Ardoyne Association "did not put forward any convincing or coherent explanation for its decision". It also found that Ms McKeith had been unfairly dismissed.

Ms McKeith had been sent home from work for two extended periods during the months before her dismissal, even though she had not asked for extended leave on these occasions. The Tribunal considered that, in her manager's minds, "because the claimant had a disabled child, her position was not properly in the workplace. Her daughter was 'her priority'".

The Tribunal's finding of disability discrimination was appealed by the Ardoyne Association. The appeal was dismissed in a decision given by the Court of Appeal in Northern Ireland on 29 November 2016. It stated that there was such evidence that, "in the absence of an adequate explanation, a Tribunal could conclude that the employer committed an unlawful act of associative disability discrimination".

It concluded: "We are not satisfied on any of the appellant's grounds of appeal. The appeal is dismissed."

The matter returned to the Tribunal for a hearing on remedies for Ms McKeith. The Tribunal awarded her £10,000 for injury to feelings, £6,760 for loss of earnings, and a total of £2,126 in interest.

Ms McKeith said: "I did not ask for any special treatment and I did not welcome it. I enjoyed coming to work, meeting people and being able to advise and help them and I knew my daughter was being cared for while I was at work. It was a real shock to me when I was made redundant.

"I'm very pleased by the decisions of the Tribunal and of the Court of Appeal, and grateful for the help of the Equality Commission through this stressful process. But most of all, I hope that this will help make sure that other people in my position are not treated in this way."

Pic: Equality Commission

(CD/JP)