Buddy says: No, the Court of Appeal has recently confirmed in O’Hanlon v Commissioners for HM Revenue & Customs that once a disabled employee’s entitlement to sick pay had been exhausted the employer was under no duty to extend the policy.

Employer information: Mrs O’Hanlon had suffered with clinical depression since 1988. She claimed that she had been discriminated against because she did not receive full pay whilst absent for reasons of her disability after the expiry of the six month period outlined under the HMRC’s sick pay policy. HMRC had twice made reasonable adjustments. They reduced Mrs O’Hanlon’s hours so as to enable her to come back to work without facing the immediate strain of full time employment, and they changed her location so as to reduce the pressures from commuting.

The EAT’s findings were upheld by the Court of Appeal, confirming that Mrs O’Hanlon had been substantially disadvantaged and treated less favourably by the HM Revenue & Customs’ (HMRC) policy but that reasonable adjustments had been made and HMRC’s treatment had been justified. The Court of Appeal laid down that upon exhaustion of Mrs O’Hanlon’s sick pay entitlement, HMRC’s failure to continue paying sick pay was neither a failure to make a reasonable adjustment nor disability-related discrimination.