Recent Legal Developments

The key question for consideration by the Employment Appeal Tribunal in the
recent case of Child Support Agency v. Truman1 was whether the appropriate
comparator in disability-related discrimination employment cases, previously
identified in Clark v. Novacold,2 should be replaced by the much narrower definition
of a comparator given in Lewisham London Borough Council v. Malcolm
in 2008,3 even though that case was heard in the context of housing law. In the
event, the EAT considered that this was the correct approach and allowed the
appeal, ensuring that in future, when deciding whether the claimant has suffered
discrimination for a reason related to his or her disability, his or her treatment
would be compared with that of a non-disabled person who is in the same
situation as the claimant. Although a more logical definition, it is considerably
narrower, and is likely to amount to an additional hurdle for those claiming
disability-related discrimination.