Duty to make reasonable adjustments in recruitment

In the case of AECOM Ltd v Mallon the EAT recently held that requiring applications via an online application form put a candidate with dyspraxia at a substantial disadvantage and triggered the employer’s duty to make reasonable adjustments.

In the case of AECOM Ltd v Mallon the EAT recently held that requiring applications via an online application form put a candidate with dyspraxia at a substantial disadvantage and triggered the employer’s duty to make reasonable adjustments.

Instead of completing the online application form (which would have required him to create a username and password), the claimant in this case emailed his CV to the respondent’s HR team and requested that he make an oral application because he has dyspraxia. The respondent contacted the claimant by email, informing him that he needed to complete the online form and asking which parts of the form he was finding it difficult to complete. The claimant did not inform the respondent of the particular difficulties he faced due to his dyspraxia, namely difficulties creating a username and password.

The tribunal held that the respondent had sufficient knowledge of the disadvantage experienced by the claimant to mean that it was under a duty make reasonable adjustments. Although the respondent did not know of the claimant’s particular difficulties in creating a username and password, the tribunal held that it ought to have known this as a reasonable employer would have telephoned the claimant to ask for more details about the difficulties he was facing with the process. Given his difficulties with written communication, the tribunal held that it was not reasonable to expect him to explain these matters in an email. The EAT upheld these findings and remitted the case to the tribunal to determine whether the claimant was a genuine applicant for the role. The case is a useful reminder of the importance of identifying where recruitment processes need to be adapted for applicants with disabilities – this could become even more important where artificial intelligence (AI) tools are used as part of the selection process.

Read more

Latest News

Read More

Why so many smart leaders are terrible at leading people

29 July 2025

Talent Management

29 July 2025

Deepfake interviews. Synthetic faces. Tampered documents. As generative AI reshapes identity fraud, traditional screening methods are being put to the test. Giant Screening CEO Mathew...

Worklife Balance

28 July 2025

The issue isn’t just about time management; it’s about mental bandwidth. The cognitive load of managing multiple priorities can leave little room for self-care, creativity,...

Newsletter

Receive the latest HR news and strategic content

Please note, as per the GDPR Legislation, we need to ensure you are ‘Opted In’ to receive updates from ‘theHRDIRECTOR’. We will NEVER sell, rent, share or give away your data to third parties. We only use it to send information about our products and updates within the HR space To see our Privacy Policy – click here

Latest HR Jobs

University of Sussex – Human Resources Salary: £25,733 to £29,179. Grade 4, per annum, pro rata if part time This provides summary information and comment

UCL – Chemistry Department / Faculty of Mathematical & Physical SciencesSalary: £54,172 to £63,752 This provides summary information and comment on the subject areas covered.

University of Oxford – Department of PsychiatrySalary: £31,459 to £36,616 (discretionary range to £39,749) per annum. Grade 5 This provides summary information and comment on

Loughborough University – Human ResourcesSalary: £46,735 to £55,755 per annum. Subject to annual pay award. This provides summary information and comment on the subject areas

Read the latest digital issue of theHRDIRECTOR for FREE

Read the latest digital issue of theHRDIRECTOR for FREE