IT Specialist Sues Employer For Not Giving Him A Raise During 15-Year Sick Leave

An IT specialist from the United Kingdom has filed a lawsuit against his employer for failing to give him a raise during his 15-year sick leave.

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Ian Clifford started his medical leave from his position at IBM in 2008 and has been paid a yearly salary of £54,000($67,500) as part of his disability plan. However, he recently filed a lawsuit against the company claiming his salary was not sustainable enough to keep up with inflation. Although he didn’t work for the company for 15 years, Clifford will continue to receive his salary until his official retirement or death, as reported by Oddity Central. 

The lawsuit claims Clifford is being treated unfairly by his employer, and he wants to take them to court to have a pay raise. In September 2008, he was on sick leave until 2013, when he noticed he didn’t receive a pay raise around the holidays. IBM offered him a compromise agreement that permitted him to be placed on their disability plan with a set salary and no obligation to work. Additionally, he was diagnosed with stage four leukemia in 2012.

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Although he has been paid approximately 75 percent of his salary within the past 15 years in addition to the holiday pay from 2013, Clifford claims the company treated him unfairly.

‘I am on chemotherapy and have been for many years and have been extremely unwell. Your salary affects your debt service, pension and everything else, it was more for my family. People may think, yes, it’s generous, but firstly those amounts are gross not taxed… I do pay national insurance on those amounts,’ he explained in an interview with The Telegraph.

Additionally, Clifford said he has a son who is currently in university and has a mortgage to pay. Although he made these arguments during a recent court hearing, Judge Paul Housego quickly dismissed the case. He said claimed that an absence of a salary increase is not a form of disability discrimination.

‘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.’

Husego also stated that his salary was very lucrative compared to those who didn’t receive similar treatment due to their disability. However, Clifford has launched an appeal against the ruling.

IBM’s policy regarding their disability plans includes a combination of prevention, health services, and respite services.

“IBM’s Long-Term Disability (LTD) Plan provides you with important income protection if you become sick or injured for an extended period of 20 time. The plan offers the following options: No coverage, 50% of pay, employee-paid with before-tax dollars, 66 2/3% of pay, employee-paid, with before tax dollars Coverage is offset with other sources of disability income, such as Social Security Disability Income or Workers’ Compensation, or both. The LTD period begins on the date immediately following the expiration of the STD Income Plan coverage.”