In Cordell v Foreign Commonwealth Office a deaf employee was supported by a team of lip speakers in her role in Warsaw. An offer of another role in Kazakhstan was withdrawn after an assessment of the costs of providing a similar team there. Not only were there real practical difficulties in arranging lip speakers in Kazakhstan but also the cost of provision would amount to five times Ms Cordell’s salary and indeed was nearly as high as the costs of running the whole embassy.
She claimed disability discrimination but this was rejected by the EAT. While cost is not a decisive issue in deciding whether an adjustment is reasonable, this does not mean that it is not relevant. A tribunal can consider a range of issues, such as the size of any budget, what the employer has spent in comparable situations and what other employers are prepared to spend. The tribunal was entitled to take into account the FCO’s budget for reasonable adjustments and in this context, the adjustment sought was not reasonable.
