Croft Vets v Butcher

In the above case, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (“EAT”) held that it is not outside the scope of reasonable adjustments to require an employer to fund private medical treatment. In this case the Claimant was off sick with depression and the employer referred the matter to a consultant psychiatrist. They recommended the Claimant should attend 6 psychiatric sessions, but the employer failed to arrange them.

Despite there only being a 50% chance that the treatment would work, the Employment Tribunal held that the failure amounted to a failure to make reasonable adjustments under the disability discrimination provisions of the Equality Act. The EAT agreed with the Tribunal noting that, even if the treatment failed, it would have lessened the effects of the Claimant’s depression

In Practice

Paul Burton, Employment Associate, says “The employer made the right first step in this case by referring the employee to a medical expert. However, they then fell down by not following the medical expert’s recommendation."

“This is a warning to employers. Not only should a medical expert’s advice be sought regarding disability-related absences, but any recommended adjustments which can be reasonably made should be followed, or at least seriously considered with good reasons as to why they are not being implemented.”

At Frettens, all of our solicitors offer a free initial meeting to chat on the phone to answer your questions. If this article raises issues for you or your business, please call us on 01202 499255 and Kate or Paul will be happy to discuss it with you.