EXPERT WITNESS: Knowledge of a disability

When does the employer know what OH knows?

Summary:

Our legal expert Prof Diana Kloss explains why employers are not automatically fixed with knowledge of an employee’s disability that has been disclosed to OH, unless the individual has consented to the information being shared with the employer.

Disability is one of nine protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010 (EqA). It is defined as a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on a person’s ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. The EqA is supplemented by the official guidance on the definition of disability and the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) Statutory Code of Practice on Employment. (Northern Ireland has a separate code having retained the definition of disability in the Disability Discrimination Act 1995). Neither of these documents is legally binding but courts and tribunals are …

 

Professor Diana Kloss MBE is a barrister, former part-time employment judge, and author

Author: Kloss D

Tags case law dda - disability discrimination act disability Equality Act 2010 law

Occupational Health at Work April/May 2026 (vol. 22/6) pp32-34

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