The parent of a disabled person has the right to an adapted work situation

(B2) The Court of Justice of the European Communities (ECJ), in a judgment rendered on July 17, affirms that Community law protects an employee who has suffered discrimination at work based on the disability of his child. Ms Coleman worked for a London law firm as a legal assistant (Coleman v. Attridge law, case. C-303/06).

In January 2001, Me Coleman gave birth to a handicapped child, suffering from congenital laringomalacia whose state of health required special care. On her return from maternity, she was pressured and ended up resigning. But believes that it is in fact a dismissal. She argues that employers treated her less favorably than employees who did not have disabled children. As an example of discriminatory acts, she reports in particular: the refusal of her employers to allow her to return to her old job upon her return from maternity leave, the refusal of flexible working hours, and hostile and insulting comments.

For the Court of Justice, the directive's prohibition of direct discrimination is not limited to people with disabilities. Thus, when an employer treats an employee, who does not himself have a disability, less favorably than another employee in a comparable situation and it is proven that the unfavorable treatment of which this employee is the victim is based on disability of his child, to whom he provides most of the care he needs, such treatment is contrary to the prohibition of direct discrimination set out in the directive ».
Consequently, it considers that if discriminatory facts are proven, compensation must be paid to the parent of a disabled child who had to resign in order to provide for the education of the child.

(NGV)

(Article published in a first version in Weekly Social News - © ASH/AC)