The claimant was a job applicant with dyspraxia who applied for a role with AECOM Ltd. The application process required him to input a username and password to create an online profile which would then enable him to access a short online application form. 

Due to his dyspraxia, the claimant emailed his cv to AECOM's HR department and requested that he be permitted to make an oral application due to his disability.  He also provided information about the impacts of dyspraxia. 

In a series of emails, AECOM insisted that he should complete the online form and offered him assistance with submitting it if necessary.  AECOM also made several enquiries as to which parts of the form he had difficulties completing, but he did not provide further information about his struggles with creating a username and password to access the application form and nor did the parties speak over the phone. The claimant's job application was unsuccessful, but he then brought a successful claim against AECOM for failing to comply with its duty to make reasonable adjustments in relation to the application process.

The Tribunal found that AECOM had adopted two discriminatory PCPs which placed the claimant at a substantial disadvantage because it required that: 

• candidates create an account to access the application form; and 
• candidates answer questions by using the spaces provided on the application form itself. 

It held that a reasonable employer ought to have known that an applicant's dyspraxia would make it difficult for them to access the application form online and that it would be difficult for the claimant to provide written communications of this type. 

The EAT held that when faced with someone who has indicated that they find written communication difficult, it was reasonable to expect an employer to phone that person to understand their circumstances.  The EAT also found that if AECOM had telephoned the claimant and made 'reasonable enquiries' it would then have had sufficient knowledge of the difficulties he faced with the application form to place it under a duty to make reasonable adjustments.