'Directly connected' | Finance boss with cancer was told his sickness hurt the business, tribunal hears

A finance director battling cancer was harassed over the impact of his sickness absence and denied fair treatment on pay, an employment tribunal has ruled.

A tribunal held in Reading found that Mr L Ralfs, who was diagnosed with relapsed Hodgkin’s lymphoma shortly after joining The Arbib Education Trust, was subjected to unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation linked to his illness, culminating in his constructive dismissal.

Disability-related treatment and pay review

The tribunal found that the Trust treated Mr Ralfs unfavourably on two occasions because of something arising in consequence of his disability.

On 29 March 2022, he was told that “his future sick pay entitlement would be reduced if he were to fall ill again in the second year of his employment, depending upon when that illness started.”