McCoy v Department of Finance [2026]
Decision Number: NIIT 22439/24 Legal Body: Northern Ireland Industrial Tribunal
Published on: 17/09/2026
Issues Covered:
Article Authors The main content of this article was provided by the following authors.
Jason Elliott BL Barrister & Associate Head of School of Law, Ulster University
Jason Elliott BL Barrister & Associate Head of School of Law, Ulster University
Jason elliott new
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Jason Elliott was called to the Bar of Northern Ireland in 2013 and is the Associate Head of School of Law at Ulster University.  As a practising barrister, he has developed a largely civil practice representing individuals, companies and public bodies in litigation. This covers a wide range of areas including personal injuries, wills and employment law. In terms of employment law, he has represented both applicants and respondents in the Industrial Tribunal.   At Ulster University, Jason lectures extensively on the civil areas of practise such as Equity and Trusts and delivers employment law lectures for both undergraduate and postgraduate students.

Summary

Claimant not constructively dismissed when asked to go to occupational health in relation to a new role after he had been off sick for nearly 5 years.

Background

The claimant was employed as an ICT Level 1 Apprentice from March 2017 until December 2023 having tendered his resignation. The claimant was in the IT Assist office for approximately 7 months until October 2017 when he went off on long-term sick leave.  Aside from returning one morning in 2018 the claimant never returned to work for the respondent.

It was agreed that the claimant was disabled within the meaning of DDA with Asperger’s Syndrome and the claimant was also to have High-Functioning Autism and ASD with associated anxiety. Prior to

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Disclaimer The information in this article is provided as part of Legal Island's Employment Law Hub. We regret we are not able to respond to requests for specific legal or HR queries and recommend that professional advice is obtained before relying on information supplied anywhere within this article. This article is correct at 17/09/2026