Diana Kloss looks at discrimination based on a fear that a job applicant may develop a disability in the future, in the light of Chief Constable of Norfolk v Coffey.

Cuts in public expenditure have led to a substantial reduction in the numbers of police officers. As a result, police forces are reluctant to appoint applicants who have health conditions that may lead to their having to be removed from the front line and transferred to restricted duties.

On the other hand, their duties as employers under the Equality Act require them to make reasonable adjustments to assist applicants with a disability to work as police officers.

Diana Kloss considers this in the light of the Coffey case, where a police force was held in breach of the Equality Act for rejecting an applicant who did not currently have a disability. It was concerned her hearing would get worse and she would become not operationally deployable, thus reducing the front line capacity of the force.

Read the full blog: Discrimination based on fear of future disability.