Ms Lagadien was a disabled employee of the Department of Science and Technology. She resigned and claimed that she had been subject to a constructive dismissal linked to disability, and that her dismissal was automatically unfair based on her disability.
Her main complaints related to the employer not providing her with reasonable accommodation for her disability. She expressed frustrations that:
- There had been delays in providing her with certain assistive devices;
- Other employees used the disabled toilets which were then unavailable to her at times;
- The office space given to her did not meet her needs; and
- Her supervisor had created a hostile working environment.
On the evidence, the court found that although there had been certain gaps in accommodating her disability, the employer was responsive to her needs and had taken steps to try and accommodate her.
Her supervisor had also not created a hostile working environment and had taken her disability into account when conducting performance assessments.
The court therefore found that she had failed to make out a case that she had been subjected to a constructive dismissal linked to disability, and it granted the employer absolution from the instance (effectively finding that the employer had no case to answer).
The case illustrates the high threshold applicable to constructive dismissal claims, which require the employee to establish that continued employment was objectively intolerable. The case also highlights the importance of employers accommodating employees’ disabilities by putting facilities in place at the workplace to ensure that they are able to manage more easily.
A full copy of the Labour Court’s judgment can be read here:
Lagadien v Minister of Science and Technology Another
