The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has held that a failure to make enquiries into a job applicant’s disability amounted to a failure to make reasonable adjustments.
Background
In 2018, AECOM Ltd advertised for a role in its research and development department. Mr Mallon, who has dyspraxia, applied. Applicants were required to complete an online application form. To access the form, applicants had to provide a password consisting of eight digits, including a special character.
Mr Mallon emailed the company’s HR department expressing his wish to apply for the role and providing information about his dyspraxia and how the condition affects people generally. He asked whether he could make his application orally by telephone because of his disability. AECOM Ltd refused the request and told him told that he had to complete the online form. He was advised to inform the HR team if he was struggling with any aspect of the form.
Mr Mallon did not inform the HR team about how his disability caused him difficulties in creating a password to access the form. He says this was for “fear of being laughed at in light of a previous experience with another employer”. Ultimately, his application was unsuccessful.
