Equality Act and Sickness

joewa

Hi , I was off work last year for four months with a condition covered by the Equality Act .
I have been offered a new job but I am worried that they might take back this offer due to being off sick . Can they do that or would that be Disability Discrimination

DomRavioli

It wouldn't be discrimination in most cases, but you don't give enough information - you cannot force an employer to give you a job, and its usually based on a lot more than just sickness leave. You also can't force someone to give you a job because you're disabled.

The equality act does infer that each case is taken on its individual merits, and yours would be no different - if someone without a protected characteristic had that amount of time off work they may not get the job due to sickness, so it may not be covered, but on the flip side, if they would not need to have that time off work, then you may be treated as not having had the time off - it is very dependent on individual circumstance.

You would need to seek proper legal advice, perhaps go to your local CAB.