CJEU Reaffirms Disability Rights and Employer’s Primary Duty to Provide Reasonable Accommodation

Case C-631/22, J.M.A.R. v Ca Na Negreta, Judgement of the CJEU of 18 January 2024

KEY TAKEAWAY: Employers must not underestimate the consequences of injuries, particularly if permanent or long-term. There are specific health and safety and disability laws that require proactive action by the employer.

J.M.A.R. worked as a driver at Ca Na Negreta, but a work-related accident left him with a serious foot injury. Initially, he received a social security payment for his permanent injury, but his condition was not deemed to make him fully incapable of working. Following his request, the company reassigned him to a position that suited his physical limitations. A court later ruled that he was permanently unfit for his previous normal occupation, and the company fired him, citing his permanent incapacity, in accordance with Spanish law.

The case emphasises that disability rights are protected by EU law, which prohibit discrimination based on disability and ensure persons with disabilities benefit from measures supporting their independence, social and occupational integration and participation in society. Additionally, the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities strengthens these protections, defining discrimination to include the denial of reasonable accommodation.

An employer is required to take appropriate measures, considering each situation individually, to enable a person with a disability to access, participate in, and advance in employment or training, unless these measures impose a disproportionate burden on the employer. If a worker becomes permanently incapable of performing their job due to disability, reassignment to another job may be considered a reasonable accommodation, enabling that worker to remain employed.

Factors such as financial costs, the organisation’s scale and financial resources, and the availability of external support or funding should be considered when assessing whether the measures in question give rise to a burden which is disproportionate. Reassignment to another job will be deemed an option where there is at least one suitable vacancy that the worker can fill.

The Spanish law that was questioned in this case allowed for the dismissal of a worker who can no longer perform their job, on account of a disability, without first attempting reasonable accommodation or showing that such accommodation would be disproportionately burdensome. This conflicted with EU rules on equal treatment in employment.