Your employer has to act on an occupational health report, not just receive it.
“Tribunal found 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... failure and constructive 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....”
If your employer receives an 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... report recommending adjustments and does not act on it, that failure can support both a reasonable adjustments claim and, if you resign because of it, a constructive dismissalWhen your employer's behaviour is so serious that you feel you have no choice but to resign, the law may treat that resignation as a dismissal. The most common basis is a fundamental breach of the imp... claim.
- Ask your employer, in writing, what they intend to do about each recommendation in an occupational health report, and get a timeframe.
- Keep a written record of any suitable vacancies you hear about, and ask directly whether they were considered for you.
- If your employer disputes a medical certificate instead of acting on it, get advice before you resign. A tribunal will look closely at whether the delay was reasonable.
The situation
You're off work and working toward a return, and an occupational health report sets out what would help: a phased return, some support with physically demanding tasks, time to manage your recovery. You get medical clearance to return. Instead of acting on the report or telling you about suitable roles that come up, your employer leaves the adjustments undiscussed for months, then, once you finally have your medical certificate, starts questioning whether it's valid. You resign, because the delay and the lack of any real engagement with the adjustments has gone on too long.
What the tribunal found
Reasonable adjustments are not optional. Sections 20 and 21 of the Equality Act 2010The main piece of legislation protecting employees from discrimination at work. It covers nine protected characteristics including age, disability, sex, race, and religion, and makes it unlawful for a... make them a legal duty on employers. The tribunal found this employer had failed that duty. It had constructive knowledgeConstructive knowledge means your employer is treated as knowing about your disability if a reasonable employer would have found out, even if nobody actually told them in so many words. It can come fr... of the need for adjustments months earlier. It received a specific occupational health report and simply did not act on it or discuss it with the employee. Vacancies that could have supported a shore-side move came and went, and nobody told him about them. When he finally obtained his medical certificate to return to sea, the employer queried it instead of progressing his return. The tribunal found this combination amounted to a fundamental breach of the implied duty of trust and confidence. That made his resignation a constructive and unfair dismissal.
If you've been signed off work and an occupational health report has recommended adjustments, your employer's job doesn't end when the report lands on their desk. They have to actually engage with it. That means discussing it with you, acting on what it recommends, and thinking proactively about suitable roles or changes, not just waiting for you to chase.
Months of waiting for a decision is one warning sign. An employer who then questions your medical evidence instead of progressing your return, once you're finally ready, is another. Together, that pattern can breach the basic trust that's supposed to exist between you and your employer, itself a breach of your employment contract. Waiting indefinitely isn't a requirement. Act once the delay itself becomes unreasonable.
If this sounds like your situation, keep a written record of every request you make and every occupational health recommendation your employer receives. That record is what will matter most if you ever need to show a tribunal the delay was real and unreasonable. Get advice before you resign, because whether a delay is long enough to count as a fundamental breach depends on the detail of your case.
Donnelly v DFDS (Guernsey) Ltd. Case 2308011/2023. Employment Tribunal (Ashford). 11 November 2025.