One clear conversation can prove your employer knew you were disabled.
“Unfair dismissalA legal claim you can bring if your employer dismissed you without a fair reason or without following a fair process. You normally need two years of continuous employment to qualify, though some dismi... and disability discrimination upheld; a single clear conversation fixed employer's knowledge.”
A single, clear conversation naming your condition, its effect on you, and how long it has lasted can be enough to prove your employer knew you were disabled. You don't need a diagnosis in hand first.
- When you raise a health condition at work, be specific. Put a name to it, be concrete about how your days are affected, and don't leave the timeframe vague.
- Remember that reasonable adjustmentsChanges an employer must make under the Equality Act 2010 for a disabled employee, where without them the employee would be at a substantial disadvantage compared to non-disabled colleagues. What coun... can cover performance measures like billing or productivity targets, not just physical changes or working hours.
- If you need time to gather medical evidence before a disciplinary hearing, ask for a postponement in writing and get advice if it is refused.
The situation
A solicitor working as a director in his employer's housing department had been managing worsening fatigue for over a year. It got significantly worse during 2020, and his billing performance fell as his health declined. At a meeting with HR, he described his condition clearly. Fatigue had been building for around a year by then, and by his own account it was cutting into his concentration and his capacity to get through ordinary daily tasks. In the months that followed, he missed reporting a number of absences under his employer's policy. His explanation was straightforward: he felt too unwell at the time to comply. A disciplinary hearingA formal meeting at which your employer sets out the allegation against you and gives you the opportunity to respond before any decision is made. You have the right to be accompanied by a colleague or... followed, and he asked for more time before it went ahead so he could pull together medical evidence. His employer refused, held the hearing anyway, and dismissed him shortly afterwards.
What the tribunal found
The tribunal found his dismissal unfair. His employer never properly obtained or considered medical evidence about his absences before deciding to dismiss him. It also upheld part of his disability discrimination claim. That single meeting, where he described his fatigue, its effects, and how long it had lasted, was enough on its own to fix his employer with knowledge of his disability from that point on. He didn't need a formal diagnosis or medical report first. Refusing his postponement request while he tried to gather evidence, then dismissing him, both counted as treatment connected to his disability. The tribunal found his employer should have referred him to Occupational HealthAn independent medical service that employers use to assess how a health condition is affecting your ability to work. A referral to occupational health is not a step toward dismissal, but the report p..., too. Rather than pressing ahead to dismissal, it could have adjusted his billing targets, moved him to part-time hours, or agreed unpaid leave.
Mr C Orogbu v Duncan Lewis Solicitors Limited. Case No. 3201906/2021. Employment Tribunal, East London Hearing Centre. September and October 2023.