In the first known case of its kind, HHJ Ralton sitting at Bristol County Court, found that disability discrimination by the University (in breach of the Equality Act 2010) caused Natasha Abrahart - a second year physics student at the University - to suffer from depressive illness leading to her tragic suicide. Whilst a claim in negligence was dismissed the decision is under appeal, with a hearing scheduled for December 2023.
The session will review the facts of the case and the implications of the decision (and appeal), which will raise several issues of relevance to the wider education sector, specifically;
- What level of information will constitute 'knowledge' of a student’s disability? Can telling a single member of staff reach the relevant threshold?
- Is there an obligation to make reasonable adjustments for disclosed mental health issues regardless of whether a student engages in any established processes for the assessment and implementation of reasonable adjustments?
- Are teaching staff expected to guess at what might work as a reasonable adjustment without expert guidance?
- Can higher education institutions claim a duty of confidence is owed over relevant disclosures in certain circumstances, or will they be judged in a discrimination claim on the assumption that no duty of confidence would apply about any disability-related disclosure made by a student to any member of staff?
- What is the test for a 'competency standard', and was the judge right to find that a method of assessment could not amount to a 'competence standard' without having a pass/fail consequence for the overall course?
- Are there potentially wider general implication - for example as regards accreditation standards?
- Will the decision result in an increased willingness to litigate?
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Kathryn Oldfield
Partner, Kennedys
Kathryn is a Partner in Kennedys' Local Authority and Abuse Team. Kathryn specialises in public sector and liability defence work, with considerable experience dealing with catastrophic injury and abuse matters, as well as having particular expertise in employers’ and public liability work.
