The claimant worked as a nursing auxiliary. Following maternity leave she developed a degenerative eye condition which caused difficulties in adjusting to changes in light and was a disability for the purposes of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. The claimant informed the respondent of her disability and that she wished to return to work in August 2011. Reasonable adjustments were not made until August 2012 after which the claimant returned to work finally in December 2012. The claimant claimed that she had been directly discriminated against and her case was supported by the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland.

The Tribunal found no direct discrimination on the part of the respondent, who had genuinely tried to facilitate the claimant’s return to work, but did find that it had failed to make reasonable adjustments by delaying the process. The claimant was awarded £8,750 to compensate for her financial loss, £6,000 for injury to feelings and a 10% uplift for failure to comply with the LRA Code in relation to the grievance procedure. http://bit.ly/Z27RLa