UNITE hailed a landmark legal victory against disability discrimination in the workplace today after winning a fight for a woman who was sacked for having cancer.

An Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) ruling means that people suffering with “pre-cancer” will be protected under the Equality Act 2010.

Unite member Christine Lofty had worked at First Cafe in Norwich for 14 years when, in March 2015, a facial lesion was diagnosed as a pre-cancerous form of melanoma.

Ms Lofty took sick leave to undergo potentially life-saving treatment, including biopsies, surgery and skin grafts.

But, while she was off work, her employer Sadek Hamis saw her in the street, decided that she had taken too much sick leave and sacked her in December 2015.

Unite took up Ms Lofty’s case for unfair dismissal and disability discrimination under the Equality Act 2010 as the pre-cancer cells amounted to having cancer, which is considered a disability.

In October 2016, she won her unfair dismissal claim at an employment tribunal, but her discrimination claim was dismissed, with the tribunal finding that she was not disabled on the grounds that pre-cancer meant “before cancer.”

But the EAT upheld her appeal, agreeing with Unite’s argument that pre-cancer is a form of cancer and therefore Ms Lofty was deemed to be disabled at the point of diagnosis, rather than at the point of dismissal.

It also found that the tribunal had failed to take into account a letter from Ms Lofty’s GP that she “had cancer” and that “pre-cancer” was a medical term for cancer that is currently contained.

The EAT decision sets a precedent that must be followed in other employment tribunal cases across Britain.

Ms Lofty’s case will now be referred back to an employment tribunal  for her disability discrimination claim to be decided.

Unite assistant general secretary for legal services Howard Beckett said: “This is a landmark case which will help ensure that employers cannot dismiss and discriminate against their workers who are suffering from any form of cancer.

“Workers who experience the anguish of developing cancer at work will be reassured that their employer can’t simply dismiss them because of their illness, as it is now clearly understood that all forms of cancer are legally protected.

“This means that employers should be taking positive steps to make reasonable adjustments, as well as not discriminating by dismissal.”