Stannah refuses stairlift for employee

Stairlift company Stannah has been fined £6,000 for refusing to install a stairlift for a disabled worker.

The firm lost a tribunal brought by IT designer David Ratcliffe, 36, who suffers from painful, collapsed discs in his back and walks on crutches.

Mr Ratcliffe, from Salisbury, requested a stairlift at the company's headquarters in Andover, Hants, to help him get to his second floor office. He has suffered from the back ailment for seven years and for it.

The former RAF logistics expert told the tribunal that his boss Alison Dickson laughed when he made the request in October 2005 and told him that they would not put in a stairlift as "everyone would want to ride on it and no work would get done".

Appearing before the Southampton tribunal, the father-of-three claimed that he was fired less than two weeks after he started because of his back injury, having been accused by Ms Dickson of not being honest about his medical problems.

Representatives for Stannah said that the company believed Mr Ratcliffe's performance and training had been affected by his medication.

The tribunal ruled that Stannah had failed to make "reasonable adjustments" for Mr Ratcliffe and awarded him £6,000. A written statement from the court added that Stannah should have allowed more time for Mr Ratcliffe's training on the company software systems.

© Adfero Ltd
Date:11/01/2007 00:00:00