In a recent judgment the House of Lords have overhauled the approach to disability discrimination cases. They held that:- A person can only be liable for discrimination if they know that the individual is disabled.

A reason which relates to a person's disability must be construed narrowly so that, for example, if an employer dismisses an employee for being off sick for a year the reason for the termination of the employment is the absence from wok not a reason relating to the underlying disability itself.

The correct comparator is somebody to whom the underlying reason does apply, i.e. absence for a year, rather than a person who is not disabled.

It would appear then that this decision will make it much harder for a Claimant to succeed in a disability discrimination claim.

For those wishing to read the judgment in this complicated decision it is London Borough of Lewisham v Malcolm.