Win for carer could lead to new discrimination rights

A British carer who claims she was "harassed" into resigning from her job because she has a disabled son has won the initial stages of a landmark legal case the European Court of Justice.

The Advocate Genenal said that Sharon Coleman had suffered “discrimination by association”, and this could lead to millions of carers having new rights.

Coleman claims she was forced to leave her job at Attridge Law in March 2005 because she was not allowed as much flexibility in her work as other employees with children.

She also claims she was called “lazy” for trying to take time off to look after her son, and was accused of using his condition to get out of work.

Coleman accepted voluntary redundancy but began a claim for constructive dismissal five months later. The Employment Tribunal hearing the case decided to refer it to the European Court for a ruling on whether EU discrimination laws covered disabled people can also apply to people not themselves disabled, but closely associated with a disabled person.

Poiares Maduro, a senior European lawyer, said that in his opinion a European law establishing equal treatment at work was relevant to those “closely associated with a disabled person”.

The formal "opinion" is not the last step in Coleman’s fight, however; now a full panel of European judges will take the Advocate-General's view into consideration before delivering the final ruling later this year.