Warehouse Employee’s Hernia Leads to €28,000 Discrimination Claim

In this case, the Complainant warehouse operative suffered a hernia and provided a medical certificate stating he was fit ‘for light duties only, can do a desk job, no heavy lifting.’ The Respondent’s defence was undermined by over-reliance on a broad-brush position in refusing reasonable accommodations to warehouse operatives working in its facilities.

The Adjudicator was not satisfied that the Respondent comprehensively assessed what reasonable accommodation, if any, could be implemented for the Complainant. Instead, the Respondent adopted a broad-brush position in stating that reasonable accommodations involving light work were not feasible for warehouse operatives. The Respondent further submitted that the duty to provide reasonable accommodation did not amount to an obligation on an Employer to remove core duties which would in essence create a new role for an Employee.

Ultimately, given the scale of the Respondent’s operations which included over 7,000 Employees and 190 sites across Ireland, the Adjudicator did not accept the argument that the provision of a reasonable accommodation for an Employee suffering from a hernia injury, would be unduly burdensome.

The decision along with recent data in the WRC’s 2025 Annual Report finding that the disability ground accounted for the highest proportion of discrimination referrals (31%) in 2025, highlights the importance of ensuring that managers are aware of their Organisation’s employment equality law obligations and in handling health-related issues both sensitively and legally.

To learn more about partnering with Adare Trusted People Partners’ Leading HR & Employment Law Experts, please contact Neil McCormack at nmccormack@adarehrm.ie today.