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A ‘medically retired’ IBM IT worker tried to sue a tech giant for not raising his £54,000 salary for the 15 years he was off on sick leave.
Ian Clifford claimed he was a victim of ‘disability discrimination’ despite being given a guaranteed salary by IBM until he turns 65.
This means he will have pocketed more than £1.5million from the company even though he has not worked since 2008, according to the Mirror.
The senior IT worker argued the lucrative IBM health plan was ‘not generous enough’ because his £54,028 salary will wither over time due to inflation.
An employment tribunal in Reading, Berkshire, dismissed his claim and a judge told Mr Clifford he had been given a ‘very substantial benefit’ and ‘favourable treatment’.
He started to work for American software company, Lotus Development in 2000, shortly after it was purchased by IBM in June 1995 for around £3billion.
Ian Clifford claimed he was a victim of ‘disability discrimination’ despite being given a guaranteed salary by IBM until he turns 65 which would allow him to pocket more than £1.5million
IBM, lesser known as the International Business Machines Corporation, is an American multinational technology corporation based in New York. They have paid Mr Clifford’s annual salary of £54,028 every year despite him not having worked since 2008
Mr Clifford, who studied at King’s College London, went on sick leave in September 2008 until 2013.
He then raised a grievance. Under this he protested he hadn’t received a pay rise and also complained about holiday pay for the five-year period.
In April, 2013, IBM offered a ‘compromise agreement’ which allowed Mr Clifford to be put on the company’s disability plan which prevents a person who is unable to work from being dismissed.
Under the plan, employees remain on the payroll and have ‘no obligation’ to work.
They have a ‘right’, until recovery, retirement or death, to be paid 75 per cent of their agreed earnings.
Mr Clifford’s agreed salary was £72,037 leaving him with £54,028 after the deduction.
The plan was fixed in place for more than 30 years until he reached the retirement age of 65.
He was also paid £8,685 to settle his holiday pay complaints in 2013 and agreed never to raise a further grievance about the same issues.
In February, 2022, he took the tech giant to an employment tribunal with new disability claims which were similar to his previous claims.
In an attempt to sue IBM he said was treated ‘unfavourably’ with no salary increase since starting the disability plan.
He went on to complain that he was given no holiday entitlement and compared himself to a non-disabled employee who was given full pay on holiday leave.
Mr Clifford tried to argue that now inflation was running at over 10 per cent, the value of the payments would soon wither’.
He started to work for American software company, Lotus Development in 2000, shortly after it was purchased by IBM in June 1995 for around £3billion
He said: ‘The point of the plan was to give security to employees not able to work – that was not achieved if payments were forever frozen.’
Employment Judge Paul Housego dismissed his case.
Judge Housego said: ‘The claim is that the absence of increase in salary is disability discrimination because it is less favourable treatment than afforded those not disabled.
‘This contention is not sustainable because only the disabled can benefit from the plan. It is not disability discrimination that the Plan is not even more generous.
‘Even if the value of the £50,000 a year halved over 30 years, it is still a very substantial benefit.
‘However, this is not the issue for, fundamentally, the terms of something given as a benefit to the disabled, and not available to those not disabled, cannot be less favourable treatment related to disability.
‘It is more favourable treatment, not less.’
A LinkedIn profile for Mr Clifford states he is from the Guildford area, and is ‘medically retired’.
IBM, lesser known as the International Business Machines Corporation, is an American multinational technology corporation based in New York.
The tech giant, which is nicknamed ‘Big Blue’, is present in over 175 companies and works to utilise technology to assist business needs.
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