Friday 18 July 2008

EU ruling will help millions

A mother won a landmark ruling yesterday when a court found she had been discriminated against because her son has a disability.
She claimed she was forced to give up her job because her employers would not give her the flexible working hours she needed to look after her 6 year old son who has breathing problems.
An employment tribunal refered the case to the European Court for a ruling on whether EU discrimination laws covering disabled people could also apply to able-bodied people.
Judges ruled that EU law protects an employee who has suffered discrimination on the grounds of their child's disability.
The ruling will give rights to millions of carers (60% of whom are women) stating "Where an employer treats an employee who is not himself disabled less favourably than another employee in a comparable situation, and it is established that the less favourable treatment of that employee is based on the disability of his child, whose care is provided primarily by that employee, such treatment is contrary to the prohibition of direct discrimination"
The ruling could also have implications for people providing care to an older relative.