In Owen v AMEC Foster Wheeler Energy Ltd & Others, Owen is disabled because of undergoing double below-knee amputations, suffering from type 2 diabetes and other health conditions. He was denied the opportunity to take up an assignment in Dubai because a pre-assignment medical assessment concluded that his disabilities were considered to give rise to a risk if he were deployed at a location remote from the UK. The EAT upheld the ET’s decision to reject Owen’s direct disability discrimination claim. The ET had not misinterpreted the medical evidence and had been entitled to find that a similarly placed comparator – subject to medical advice that they were at a high risk of needing medical assistance if deployed at a location remote from the UK – would have been treated in exactly the same way as Owen.

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