IT worker who has been on paid sick leave for 15 years is suing company for not offering a raise

Many organizations have employee-friendly leave policies, and by taking advantage of their rights, employees can even benefit financially while on leave. One IT worker in the United Kingdom managed to get paid sick leave for more than 15 years, but it wasn’t enough for him. In February 2022, Ian Clifford, who hadn’t shown up for work in more than a decade, sued his employer IBM for failing to offer him a pay rise while he was on sick leave, The Telegraph reports. Despite the organization’s generous commitment to put him on a disability plan, the terminally ill employee was not satisfied and sought justice in the employment tribunal.

Clifford, a graduate of King’s College London, is from the Greater Guildford area and began working for IT company Lotus Development in 2000, according to his LinkedIn page. The company was later acquired by IBM. In 2008, the IT technician was forced to take sick leave due to mental health issues, and in 2012 he became seriously ill after being diagnosed with leukemia. He remained ill for several years, and in 2013, in his mid-30s, Clifford realized that his employer had not offered him a pay rise during his five-year leave. Clifford’s grievances also include lower pension contributions, no holiday pay and disability discrimination.

In any case, IBM agreed to put him on a “disability plan,” which allowed an employee to receive 75% of their agreed-upon income until recovery, retirement, or death. The policy stated that the employee had “no obligations to work” during that period, but would still receive their salary. So since 2013, Clifford had been paid £54,028 (about $59,000) and this would continue until his retirement at age 65 or until his death. Nearly a decade later, in February 2022, Clifford filed new grievances with the Employee Tribunal, alleging discrimination on the grounds of disability, lack of pay rises and holiday pay. Given rising inflation in the UK and his standard annual income, Clifford was seeking a 2.5% increase for his employment between 2013 and 2022, according to an update from The Telegraph.

In March 2023, Employment Tribunal Judge Housego dismissed Clifford’s claim, finding that it was not discrimination. According to the ruling, “it is not disability discrimination that the scheme is not even more generous. Even if the value of the £50,000 a year were to halve over 30 years, it is still a very substantial benefit. However, that is not the issue because fundamentally the terms of something that is given as a benefit to disabled people and is not available to people who are not disabled cannot be less favourable treatment because of disability. It is more favourable treatment, not less favourable treatment.” Clifford was not too happy with this ruling, as his salary was reportedly not enough to support his family.

The IT worker addressed those who claim IBM’s payment was generous because he didn’t have to show up for work, and wanted to clarify that he wasn’t being greedy. “I’ve been on chemotherapy for years and have been extremely ill. Your salary affects your death in service (insurance), pension and everything else, this was more for my family,” he told the news outlet. “People might think, yes it’s generous, but firstly those amounts are gross and there’s no tax paid on them. I do pay National Insurance on those amounts. I have a son who’s going to university. Your mortgage isn’t going to be reduced because you’re ill,” he added. Clifford has spent more than £30,000 (around $32,000) on his lawsuit and also worried he wouldn’t make it to the age of 65.