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A truck driver who complained she was sacked by a Staffordshire haulage firm after developing diabetes and being off work ill has been told she can proceed with a compensation claim for disability discrimination. C Elwell Transport, of Rugeley, was criticised by Birmingham Employment Tribunal chairman John van Gelder for making no effort to find out what was happening to Gemma Walton of Fradley, near Lichfield. Walton, who was seeking permission to have her compensation claim for disability discrimination  heard at a full hearing, said she had been employed by the firm for two months before she became ill.

The company said that when she did not turn up for work and failed to contact them, they presumed she had left and sent her a P45. An Elwell manager said it was not uncommon for drivers to leave by simply not turning up for work: "If we had known she had diabetes, we would have responded." Walton told the Tribunal that she had sent a letter to the firm explaining the situation and that her husband had phoned the management. She said her situation had been worsened by a fall in her home which caused an injury that required hospital treatment. "I was not given any sick pay and I am owed £709," she added.

Van Gelder said the company could at least have sent a text message enquiring about Walton's situation and described her husband as an honest witness, saying he believed his evidence that he had told the firm his wife was ill. Walton can now go ahead with her  claim for disability discrimination, plus unpaid sick pay at a full hearing later this year.