Ask Marina: I was seriously injured in an accident recently. Could my employer dismiss me because of my injury?

A: You may have the protection of the Equality Act 2010. To qualify under the Act, you must have a condition which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on your ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.

Under this Act employers are required to make “reasonable adjustments“ to their working arrangements for disabled employees. This can include changes to the type, place or hours of work, and the working environment.

If you work for a small employer, it may not be reasonable to require them to make major adjustments because they only have a few staff or cannot afford to make the adjustments.

The larger an employer, the more reasonable it may be for them to make adjustments.

A disabled employee also has the right not to be treated less favourably than a non-disabled employee. If your employer dismissed you just because they did not want someone with a disability in the office, this would be discrimination.

However, if you were no longer able to fulfil a requirement of your job because of your disability, and there were no reasonable adjustments which could be made, then an employer could legally dismiss you, subject to giving you all your contractual rights.

I suggest that you keep in contact with your employer and try to agree some reasonable adjustments so that you can return to work when you are fit to do so.

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