1. Agoraphobia. Jeary v MIE Ltd, Exeter Employment Tribunal, 4th May 1999
2 Throat Cancer. McLauchlan v Stolt Comex Seaway Ltd, Aberdeen Employment Tribunal, Case No. S/200809/98. 9th August 1999.
3. Breast Cancer. Deborah Sander - breast cancer - newspaper reports on 30th March 2000.
4. Dyslexia. Harling v C.L. Plastics, Leeds Employment Tribunal, 25th February 2000.
5. Nervous Breakdown. Haddock v Sema Group Ltd, Reading Employment Tribunal Case no ET/2700635/99 on 13th September 2000.

1. Agoraphobia. Miss Jeary, aged 26, was dismissed from her job as a sales co-ordinator. The employer claimed the dismissal was because of gross miscopnduct (exploiting a company scheme to get free weekend breaks). The tribunal found that the real reason was agoraphobia causing her to be afraid of travelling by train or alone by car.

The tribunal awarded her £7,216 compensation under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. She was represented by Mr N. Hart of Slee Blackwell, Barnstable (reported in the Daily Telegraph, 5th May 1999).

2. Throat Cancer.

Mr McLauchlan, a senior loss prevention manager with Stolt Comex Seaway Ltd was diagnosed with throat cancer in May 1997. He was dismissed in July 1998 "for perceived lack of performance". His salary had been £60,000 pa.

He had taken 40 days off work since May 1997 for treatment of the cancer but otherwise had continued working while undergoing treatment, albeit with reduced responsibilities. His condition then stabilised (ie he was "in remission").

The Aberdeen Employment Tribunal found in his favour and awarded him £79,708 for disability discrimination and £2,310 for unfair dismissal (reported in the Times on August 10th 1999, news section - page 5).

A subsequent newspaper report (Daily Telegraph, 23rd August 1999) suggested that the government is reviewing the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 following concern that employees diagnosed as having the early stages of cancer may not be protected by the Act if they are dismissed before they start to suffer from its debilitating effects.

3. Breast Cancer Deborah Sander a part-time school teacher on a one year fixed term contract did not have her contract renewed after taking time off for breast cancer treatment. She was employed by Kings of Wessex school in Cheddar, Somerset for the year beginning September 1998. In autumn term 1998 she arranged treatment to be on her days off but she had to go into hospital for surgery in December, followed by scans and radiotherapy through to summer 1999. Her contract was not renewed and she complained that the school had used her temporary contract as an excuse to dismiss her because of her cancer. In March 2000 an employment tribunal awarded her £9,050 compensation for unfair dismissal and disability discrimination, inclusive of £7,954 for injury to feelings (source:- news story reported in the Guardian and the Daily Telegraph on March 30th , 2000).

4. Dyslexia. Mr Lee Harling, who suffered from dyslexia, was awarded £28,000 (for injury to feelings under the DDA 1995) by the Leeds Employment Tribunal after suffering for 18 months from verbal and physical abuse (including being "shrink wrapped" in plastic cling film) by fellow employees of C.L. Plastics of Birkenshaw. The employer failed to take his complaints seriously. The Times on February 26th 2000 reported that the Leeds Tribunal said: "We emphasise this is a rather extreme case of barbarous treatment which, though at one time accepted in the workplace, has now been outlawed. Employees as well as employers would be well advised to note this fact." See also notes at Bullying at work .

5. Nervous Breakdown. Mr Haddock was a senior computer engineer and sales manager who had worked since 1983 for the Sema Group. By 1997 his salary was approx £50,000 pa and he also had substantial fringe benefits such as a car, pension and participation in a share scheme. He was unable to get on with a new senior executive, his work standard detiorated and in January 1998 he was off work for seven months as a result of severe depression, confirmed by a consultant psychiatrist. He returned to work in summer 1998 reporting to a new manager who gave him a good report at the year end when he (the manager) retired. He believed that the next manager to whom he was to report was not supportive. She told him in January 1999 that he would now work as a "customer development manager" rather than as previously as a "development area manager". He considered that he was overqualified for this work and that it represented demotion. He suffered a nervous breakdown and from then on he was under continuous medical treatment and had not been able to work. He brought a claim before the Reading employment tribunal under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.

The tribunal found that Sema Group had failed in 1999 to continue to make the reasonable adustments it had made in 1998 and that it imposed a detriment on Mr Haddock which was attributable to a disability from which he suffered. The tribunal awarded Mr Haddock £35,000 for psychiatric injury plus a further £20,000 for injury to feelings and a further £10,000 aggravated damages because Sema Group had made no effort to settle the matter..

Sema Group was later given permission to appeal (see SEMA UK Ltd v Haddock,EAT on 9th May 2001, SEMA UK Ltd v Haddock, [2002] EWCA Civ 361 on 7th March 2002 and Atos Origin IT Services UK Ltd v Haddock EAT 2004 , reported at [2005] ICR 277).