£20,000 for woman who lost her job after being confined to wheelchair

Local & National

Friday, May 09, 2008

By Lesley-Anne Henry

A woman who was forced to retire after an accident left her wheelchair-bound, has been awarded almost £20,000 compensation.

Alison Austin (47) from Whitehead also won the right to return to work after taking the disability discrimination action against her employers the Social Security Agency (SSA).

Mrs Austin sustained serious head and neck injuries during a holiday accident in France in 2005 and has been in a wheelchair ever since. In January last year, however, she was informed of a decision to retire her on medical grounds. The SSA claimed Mrs Austin could not carry out her work exactly as she had before the accident and she was told she had to go.

The mother-of-two was dealt a further blow after the SSA said it would only consider making wheelchair friendly adjustments to their offices if she was successful in appealing against the decision.

In admitting liability yesterday, the Social Services Agency expressed regret for the distress, upset and injury to Ms Austin's feelings and paid her £18,940 in compensation. The Agency also agreed to make physical adjustments to its premises to allow her to return to work and fully restored her pay, annual leave and pension arrangements.

Alison Austin said she was delighted to be able to return to work.

"I really appreciate the great support I have had from my immediate colleagues, and the assistance I received from the Equality Commission. It has been a difficult and stressful time but I am really happy to be back at work. I am particularly pleased that this case has highlighted, and hopefully will improve, the proper steps to be taken towards accommodating disabled people in the workplace."

Anne McKernan, legal casework director in the Equality Commission, said: " In this case the decision to medically retire Alison Austin was made on the basis that she could not do her job exactly as she did it before her accident. The outcome underlines the importance for employers of considering reasonable adjustments, including physical adjustments, before deciding to dismiss or retire a disabled employee.

"It also stresses the importance of consulting with the employee to find out their requirements, rather than just making assumptions about someone's willingness or ability to work."

The Social Security Agency also affirmed its commitment to the principle of equality of opportunity in employment and to ensuring that its policy and practices comply with the discrimination legislation.

"It has agreed to liaise with the Equality Commission to review its practices and procedures."

Last night no one from the Department for Social Development, which has responsibility for the Social Security Agency, was available for comment.