Can absence due to sickness be used as part of selection criteria for selecting an employee for redundancy or could this be viewed as disability discrimination?

Absence can be used as part of selection criteria. However, if it is, it is important that the reasons for sickness absence are examined to mitigate the risk of a disability discrimination claim. For example, if an employee has been absent because of disability, you may need to consider adjusting the other criteria to ensure fair application which discounts the effect of the disability upon the employee.

The difficulty here is whether disability related absences should be discounted in full. The Equality Commission’s Disability Code of Practice is ambiguous on the issue of whether disability related absences should be discounted in their entirety. Termination of employment is dealt with in