What can I do if my employer won't help me?

If you have already completed your employer's grievance procedures without success, and are within the time limits for bringing a case, you can make an Employment Tribunal (ET) claim under the Disability Discrimination Act.

To do so, you will need specialist legal advice, available through your union, local law centre, citizens advice bureau or other source. Long-term absence from work is very likely to stem from a disability. Many of the disability claims taken to ETs have involved workers dismissed from their job after long-term absence.

Legal cases show that, for employers, the test of disability discrimination can be tougher than on unfair dismissal itself. One important tribunal case involved a health worker dismissed after a long period of sickness absence. The tribunal ruled against the worker's unfair dismissal claim, arguing that her employer had taken reasonable steps to find her alternative work. But they upheld her disability discrimination claim on the basis that the DDA imposed tougher obligations on employers to make reasonable adjustments, or find other work, for a person with disabilities.