Employers will welcome a Court of Appeal decision that robustly rejected the idea that they are obliged to make reasonable adjustments for employees or job applicants who are associated with disabled people (in this case, for a non-disabled employee whose daughter has Down’s syndrome).
The court held that the reasonable adjustment duty only applies where an employee or job applicant is disabled. It does not oblige employers to make adjustments for a non-disabled employee who is in some way associated with a disabled person. However, where an employee has a disabled family member, it would be good practice for a business to do what it can to assist.
