IBM employee on sick leave for last 15 years sues company for not hiking salary

"The point of the plan was to give security to employees not able to work - that was not achieved if payments were forever frozen," he said.

Clifford has alleged that he had experienced "disability discrimination" because his pay had not increased during the previous 15 years of his absence from work. Anyone enrolled in the plan is entitled to receive 75 percent of the agreed-upon wages until recovery, retirement, or death, whichever occurs first. In his case, the agreed-upon compensation was 72 037 pounds, which meant that starting in 2013, he would receive 54 028 pounds after a 25 percent deduction. Until he turned 65 and was eligible for retirement, the strategy was set in stone for more than 30 years.

As per Clifford the plan was ''not generous enough'' since his salary will become invaluable over time because of inflation. In February 2022, Clifford took the company to an employment tribunal, claiming disability discrimination.

Judge Housego said, “That active employee may get pay rises, but inactive employees do not, is a difference, but is not, in my judgment, a detriment caused by something arising from disability. The complaint is in fact that the benefit of being an inactive employee on the plan is not generous enough because the payments have been at a fixed level since April 6, 2013, now 10 years, and may remain so.

He further added that the argument is that not raising salaries constitutes disability discrimination since it gives disabled people less favourable treatment than non-disabled people do. Because only those who are disabled can benefit from the scheme, this argument cannot be supported. Not being even more liberal with the plan is not disability discrimination. Even if the value of the £50,000 annually decreased by half over 30 years, it would still represent a sizable advantage.

“It is more favourable treatment, not less," he said.