Disabled Woman Awarded £11K In Unfair Dismissal Case

A disabled woman, who was dismissed by her employer, has been awarded compensation of £11,852 at an Industrial Tribunal.

Celia Luisa Pereira de Costa has suffered from glaucoma and chronic eye difficulties since the age of 16.

She worked as a Production Operative for Summer Garden Salads Limited, which involved the preparation of various vegetables, including onions.

In June 2017, she experienced pain and discomfort after being asked to peel and chop fresh onions, and after taking some time off work and attending an eye clinic for treatment, she requested to be excused from those duties.

Ms de Costa was then sacked in August 2017, despite providing a doctor's letter to confirm that she was unfit to carry out that specific requirement.

"The only thing I could not do was peel and chop onions. I could do all of my other duties without any difficulty," Ms de Costa said.

"I lost a job that I really enjoyed because my employer would not make simple changes which would have allowed me to continue in work."

She was supported by the Equality Commission in taking her case before a Tribunal, which ruled the company had unlawfully discriminated against her by failing to make reasonable adjustments as required by the Disability Discrimination Act, and therefore unfairly dismissed her.

Mary Kitson, Senior Legal Officer at the Equality Commission said: "These are the kind of circumstances which the reasonable adjustment provisions in the act were designed to deal with.

"Relatively minor changes to the working environment can make a world of difference to someone who may otherwise find that they are, for all practical purposes, excluded from particular kinds of work.

"In this case, Celia Da Costa found herself out of a job which she enjoyed and valued, and this had a considerable impact on her."



(JG/MH)