Diagnosis: no discrimination

A woman applied for a job as an assistant nurse at a hospital's neonatal unit, where she would treat the most premature babies. On the day of the interview, she texted the hospital to inform them that she was wheelchair-bound. After this, the hospital canceled the interview claiming the wheelchair would not fit in the workplace.

The workplace was cramped and difficult to access, with lots of hoses and cables to different machines. In addition, different machines could be adjusted in height. But, due to the critical nature of the work, it was not possible to adjust to other than the treating doctors.

No measures were needed

The Labor Court found that the hospital had not discriminated against the applicant by canceling her interview after finding out she was wheelchair-bound.

This was because there was a real risk that the applicant could not perform the required tasks because of her wheelchair. The hospital had not tried to accommodate the workplace as they previously had an employee who tried to use a wheelchair in the department, which was not possible. Therefore, the Court accepted that no reasonable accommodations could be taken.

IUNO’s opinion

The case is surprising because the hospital did not need to try to make accommodations because it had previously had an employee in a wheelchair. Usually, companies must always explore accommodations for each individual applicant.

IUNO recommends that companies in a recruitment situation thoroughly assess if any measures are needed to accommodate an applicant's needs. At the same time, measures should be reasonable and not too costly.

[The Labour Court’s decision of 28 August 2024 in case 66/24]