The EAT has confirmed that an employer does not necessarily have to pay for work not done if offering a disabled employee a phased return to work.
Payment only for the hours worked during a phased return does not put disabled employees at a particular disadvantage, as it applies equally to other part-time workers. Further, continuing full pay would not normally be a ‘reasonable adjustment’. (Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust v Bagley, EAT)
The exception may be where the employee’s inability to work full-time is due to the employer’s prior breach of the duty to make reasonable adjustments.