This case is an appeal by the Irish Prison Service (the Respondent) of the Adjudication Officer’s decision which awarded a Prison Officer (the Complainant) the sum of €40,000 in compensation upon finding that the Complainant had been discriminated against by the Respondent.

The Complainant had been employed as a Prison Officer with the Respondent based in Cloverhill Prison for just over six years. He was then transferred to the Midlands Prison, Portlaoise where he suffered injuries to his back while relocating a violent prisoner in December 2011. As a result, he was out of work until May 2012.

On his return to work, the Complainant was advised that he should be assigned to non-prisoner contact duties. After time, he was carrying out wider risk duties and by May 2013 he was assigned his full duties. The Complainant then required surgery.

Upon entering into discussions with management, he was advised that the only option was to avail of ill health retirement or to transfer to PASO (Prison Administration Support Officer) grade. If neither of these options was agreeable to him then he could return to work for a period of three months under the Accommodations Policy and if there was no improvement in his condition within three months, then he would have to go back out on sick leave. The Complainant submitted that he is entitled to reasonable accommodation in accordance with Section 16 of the Employment Equality Acts.

The Respondent denied that any discrimination occurred against the Complainant on the grounds of disability. It was submitted that the Respondent has a fundamental requirement that its workforce are capable of performing all duties associated with the role. On that basis they were entitled to rely on the special derogation provided to the Respondent under Section 37 of the Acts. The Respondent submitted that the Complainant was allocated other alternative roles and that they did not have positions available to accommodate staff on restricted duties other than in accordance with the limited rehabilitation periods provided for under the Accommodations Policy.

The Court found that Section 37(3) of the Employment Equality Act provides an exemption to the Respondent from a complaint of discrimination in circumstances where the Complainant is not capable of carrying out the full ranges of duties that are required of a Prison Officers. Accordingly, the Respondent’s appeal succeeded, and the Adjudication Officers Decision was overturned.
https://www.workplacerelations.ie/en/cases/2018/july/eda1837.html