Win for carer could lead to new discrimination rights

Training Journal, March, 2008 by Kelly Mansfield

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A British carer who claims she was "harassed" into resigning from her job because she has a disabled son has won the initial stages of a landmark legal case at the European Court of Justice.

The advocate general said that Sharon Coleman had suffered "discrimination by association", and this could lead to millions of carers having new rights.

Coleman claims she was forced to leave her job at Attridge Law in March 2005 because she was not allowed as much flexibility as other employees with children.

She also claims she was called "lazy" for trying to take time off to look after her son, and was accused of using his condition to get out of work.

Coleman accepted voluntary redundancy but began a claim for constructive dismissal five months later. The employment tribunal hearing the case decided to refer it to the European court for a ruling on whether EU discrimination laws covering disabled people can also apply to people not themselves disabled, but closely associated with a disabled person.

The formal 'opinion' is not the last step in Coleman's fight, however; now a full panel of European judges will take the advocate-general's view into consideration before delivering the final ruling later this year.

Kelly Mansfield is editor of Workplace Law. To find out more about any of these stories visit www.workplacelaw.net/news/news