Mr Dale Knights v John Lewis plc — 2025

The claimant was employed by the respondent from 26 July 2020 until his dismissal on 8 July 2024. The respondent accepted that the claimant was disabled by Crohn's disease and heart disease/angina, and that it had knowledge of disability. The tribunal found that the reason for dismissal was ill health capability and that the dismissal fell within the band of reasonable responses.

For the Equality Act section 15 claim, the tribunal found that the respondent relied on legitimate aims connected with operational effectiveness, meeting customer demand, workforce reliability, planning, allocation of work, attendance, and use of resources. It concluded that dismissal was a proportionate means of achieving those aims, including because adjustments had been tried and the claimant's absence pattern had not materially changed.

For the reasonable adjustments claim, the tribunal found that the pleaded PCP of a 3% sickness absence trigger under the short-term sickness policy had not been applied to the claimant. It found that the claimant had been dealt with under a long-term sickness capability process and had not suffered disadvantage from the pleaded PCP.