Coleman -v- Attridge Law
31 March 2009
This is the case which was referred to the European Court of Justice to determine whether the European Equal Treatment Framework Directive should properly apply to 'associative' discrimination, in this particular case on grounds of disability.
Mrs Coleman took a tribunal complaint against her employer alleging that she had been directly discriminated against, and subject to harassment on grounds of disability – in this case, the disabled person was Mrs Coleman's son.
The European Court have ruled that the Framework Directive should indeed be interpreted as prohibiting associative discrimination on grounds of direct discrimination and harassment, across all aspects of discrimination that it applies to: age, disability, sexual orientation and religion or belief.
When the claim went back to the Employment Tribunal, it was ruled that it is possible to construe the Disability Discrimination Act so as to accord with EU law, as interpreted by the ECJ. An appeal to the Employment Appeal Tribunal has been filed by the employers.
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