The recent decision by the Court of Appeal in O'Hanlon v Commissioners for HM Revenue & Customs will be welcomed by employers, in light of the implications it has for sick pay policies. The Court of Appeal held that, when Mrs Hanlon's entitlement to sick pay had been exhausted under HM Revenue & Customs' sick pay policy, the employer's failure to continue to pay Mrs O'Hanlon was neither a failure to make a reasonable adjustment nor disability discrimination.
While the Court of Appeal endorsed the EAT's findings that Mrs O'Hanlon had been substantially disadvantaged and treated less favourably by the sick pay policy, it found that reasonable adjustments had been made and that the employer's treatment of her was justified.
It will now be very difficult for a disabled employee to claim full pay during sick leave once any contractual entitlement to full pay has been exhausted, except where - as in the case of Nottinghamshire County Council v Meikle - the employer caused the employee's absence by failing to make reasonable adjustments which would have enabled the employee to remain at work.
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