Carers to get protection at work following landmark European Court of Justice case

This follows an historic case taken by carer Sharon Coleman who claimed that she was discriminated against and harassed because she had a disabled son and was treated less favourably than employees whose children weren’t disabled. Sharon Coleman claimed that her employer, London law firm Attridge Law, refused to allow her to return to the same job after maternity leave, accused her of being “lazy” when she needed to take time off to care for her child and threatened her with disciplinary action.

This ruling could give new rights to millions of carers who are struggling to combine caring with paid work.

Commenting on the case, Imelda Redmond, Chief Executive of Carers UK, said:

“This is an historic step towards true equality for carers. Too many carers face discrimination at work, yet they are the bedrock of our communities and society.

Although this ruling applies only to parents of disabled children, we will be urging the Government to extend it to people caring for others, for example a spouse, parent, other family member or friend. Changes will need to be made to UK law and Government should take a proactive approach and include all carers, rather than waiting for further cases to be taken through the courts.

This landmark judgement will have huge implications for discrimination and employment law as employers will now have to ensure that carers in their workforce are not treated differently to others employees. Carers already have the right to request flexible working, but this new ruling will give them greater protection. At a time when we have a shortage of skilled workers, it makes good business sense for employers to support the carers in their workforce. After all, one in seven employees have caring responsibilities outside work.

This ruling follows hot on the heels of the Government’s National Strategy for Carers and its proposals for the forthcoming Equality Bill. Neither contained any measures aimed at eliminating discrimination against carers. In the light of today’s judgement we strongly urge the Government to rethink its approach when it publishes its response to the Discrimination Law Review consultation and the Equality Bill.

Read our exclusive interview with Sharon Coleman in which she tells Carers UK her story. more...