London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Aug 30, 2025

IBM Employee On Sick Leave For 15 Years Sues Company For No Pay Rise

IBM Employee On Sick Leave For 15 Years Sues Company For No Pay Rise

A senior IT worker who's been on sick leave since 2008 took his employer to court for discrimination because he didn't receive a salary hike, Telegraph reported. As per the report, Ian Clifford is employed by tech giant IBM but he's been sick for the past 15 years. According to his LinkedIn profile, he's been 'medically retired' since 2013. Mr Clifford first wenton sick leave in September 2008

However, he claimed that he was a victim of 'disability discrimination' because his salary had not been increased in the 15 years he was off work. Under an IBM health plan, the IT specialist receives more than 54,000 pounds (Rs 55,30,556) a year and is guaranteed to receive the salary until he is 65. 

But, the employee argued that the health plan was ''not generous enough'' because his salary will wither over time due to inflation. 

Notably, Mr Clifford first went on sick leave in September 2008 and things remained as such until 2013 when he raised a grievance. Heeding his complaint, IBM offered him a 'compromise agreement' where he was put onto the company's disability plan so he wouldn't be dismissed. Under the plan, a person who is unable to work is not dismissed but remains an employee and has ''no obligation to work''.

An employee on the plan has a 'right' until recovery, retirement, or death if earlier, to be paid 75% of agreed earnings. In his case, his agreed salary was 72,037 pounds, meaning from 2013 he would be paid 54,028 pounds per year after 25% was deducted.  The plan was fixed in place for more than 30 years until he reached retirement age at 65.

In February 2022, he took IBM to an employment tribunal on claims of disability discrimination. 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."

However, things didn't go according to his plan, as an employment tribunal dismissed his claims, with a judge telling him he has been given a "very substantial benefit" and "favourable treatment".

Judge Housego said, “That active employee may get pay rises, but inactive employees do not, is a difference, but is not, in my judgment, a detriment caused by something arising from disability. The complaint is in fact that the benefit of being an inactive employee on the plan is not generous enough because the payments have been at a fixed level since April 6, 2013, now 10 years, and may remain so.

''The claim is that the absence of an 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.''

''It is more favourable treatment, not less,'' he concluded. 

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Corporate America Cuts Middle Management as Bosses Take On Triple the Workload
Parents Sue OpenAI After Teen’s Death, Alleging ChatGPT Encouraged Suicide
Amazon Faces Lawsuit Over 'Buy' Label on Digital Streaming Content
Federal Reserve Independence Questioned Amid Trump’s Push to Reshape Central Bank
British Politics Faces Tumultuous Autumn After Summer of Rebellions and Rising Farage Momentum
US Appeals Court Rules Against Most Trump-Era Tariffs
UK Sought Broad Access to Apple Users’ Data, Court Filing Reveals
UK Bank Shares Dive Over Potential Tax on Sector
Germany’s Auto Industry Sheds 51,500 Jobs in First Half of 2025 Amid Deepening Crisis
Bruce Willis Relocated Due to Advanced Dementia
French and Korean Nuclear Majors Clash As EU Launches Foreign Subsidy Probe
EU Stands Firm on Digital Rules as Trump Warns of Retaliation
Getting Ready for the 3rd Time in Its History, Germany Approves Voluntary Military Service for Teenagers
Argentine President Javier Milei Evacuated After Stones Thrown During Campaign Event
Denmark Confronts U.S. Diplomat Over Covert Trump-Linked Influence in Greenland
Starmer Should Back Away from ECHR, Says Jack Straw
Trump Demands RICO Charges Against George Soros and Son for Funding Violent Protests
Taylor Swift Announces Engagement to NFL Star Travis Kelce
France May Need IMF Bailout, Warns Finance Minister
Chinese AI Chipmaker Cambricon Posts Record Profit as Beijing Pushes Pivot from Nvidia
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
Ukraine Finally Allows Young Men Aged Eighteen to Twenty-Two to Leave the Country
The Porn Remains, Privacy Disappears: How Britain Broke the Internet in Ten Days
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Welcome to The Definition of Insanity: Germany Edition
Just a reminder, this is Michael Jackson's daughter, Paris.
Spotify’s Strange Move: The Feature Nobody Asked For – Returns
Manhunt in Australia: Armed Anti-Government Suspect Kills Police Officers Sent to Arrest Him
China Launches World’s Most Powerful Neutrino Detector
How Beijing-Linked Networks Shape Elections in New York City
Ukrainian Refugee Iryna Zarutska Fled War To US, Stabbed To Death
Elon Musk Sues Apple and OpenAI Over Alleged App Store Monopoly
2 Australian Police Shot Dead In Encounter In Rural Victoria State
Vietnam Evacuates Hundreds of Thousands as Typhoon Kajiki Strikes; China’s Sanya Shuts Down
UK Government Delays Decision on China’s Proposed London Embassy Amid Concerns Over Redacted Plans
A 150-Year Tradition to Be Abolished? Uproar Over the Popular Central Park Attraction
A new faith called Robotheism claims artificial intelligence isn’t just smart but actually God itself
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner Purchases Third Property Amid Housing Tax Reforms Debate
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Italian Facebook Group Sharing Intimate Images Without Consent Shut Down Amid Police Investigation
Dutch Foreign Minister Resigns Amid Deadlock Over Israel Sanctions
Trump and Allies Send Messages of Support to Ukraine on Independence Day Amid Ongoing Conflict
China Reels as Telegram Chat Group Shares Hidden-Camera Footage of Women and Children
Sam Nicoresti becomes first transgender comedian to win Edinburgh Comedy Award
Builders uncover historic human remains in Lancashire house renovation
Australia Wants to Tax Your Empty Bedrooms
MotoGP Cameraman Narrowly Avoids Pedro Acosta Crash at Hungarian Grand Prix
FBI Investigates John Bolton Over Classified Documents in High-Profile Raids
Report reveals OpenAI pitched national ChatGPT Plus subscription to UK ministers
×