Man sacked after almost dying from allergic reaction to peanuts successfully sues former employer

A man who was sacked when he returned to work after almost dying from an allergic reaction to peanuts has successfully sued his former employer.

Ope Ajanaku, a financial analyst at Monsas, a company in Cambridge, inadvertently ate a dish containing peanuts during his brother's wedding. He subsequently went into anaphylactic shock and was taken to hospital, where he was treated in the resuscitation ward.

Ajanaku told an employment tribunal that the allergic reaction had left him "immobile". When he was discharged from hospital the next day, doctors prescribed him a five-day course of strong medication, as well as a 14 day course of paracetamol, and told him to rest.

He informed his managers about the incident at the wedding and said he would be off sick. However, when he returned, Monsas' chief compliance officer, Sally Rigg, asked for a medical certificate.

She said this was because he had been on sick leave for more than three days, but Ajanaku said he was under the impression that employees did not need to prove a note if they were on sick leave for fewer than seven days. He had been off for only five, and therefore declined to provide a medical certificate.

Immediately, Ajanaku was ordered to attend a disciplinary hearing - and then fired without investigation. Now, he has successfully sued Monsas for "disability" discrimination, and will soon receive compensation.

The employment tribunal in London said that Ajanaku's absence arose from an allergy to peanuts and formed a significant part of his sacking. The court classified his allergy as a "disability" and ruled that his dismissal was discrimination.

In submissions arguing that the company had a right to fire Ajanaku, Monsas argued that he had already been under-performing, had not followed the sickness absence policy, and had refused a reasonable management instruction.

At a disciplinary hearing for instance, managing director Andrew Herriot said that Ajanaku’s absence would not have been a problem if he were not otherwise "unreliable and shirking work." He told Ajanaku in his dismissal letter that it had been "unacceptable" to have "failed to attend work" while he was off sick.

Judge Tina Elliot ruled that Ajanaku had complied with the sickness absence policy when he initially reported he would be taking time off work.

She acknowledged that it was not unreasonable of Monsas to ask for a medical certificate, but said Ajanaku had been treated "unfavourably" because managers did not explain to him that they had a right to ask for it - instead calling a disciplinary hearing and sacking him at short notice.

In his evidence, Ajanaku said: "I was happy to provide a medical certificate as long as I knew it was a fair and lawful request and because I wasn’t given confirmation of that, I didn’t produce it."

On the director's comments about him "shirking" work, Judge Elliot said these were performance-related issues - and did not amount to gross misconduct, which Monsas was arguing.

Ajanaku will receive compensation following the tribunal, the amount of which will be determined at a later date.