UK — British music producer Sir Robin Millar filed employment tribunal proceedings against Reservoir Media, the current owner of Blue Raincoat Music, alleging disability discrimination, victimisation and exclusion. Preliminary hearings in the case were scheduled for next week.

Millar, who is blind, co-founded Blue Raincoat Music in 2014. The company subsequently merged with the US-based rights company Reservoir Media, and Millar was retained to co-run day-to-day operations, serving as executive chair until last year.

Millar said he had been denied a request for a support worker to assist him in his work after facing mobility challenges following cancer surgery. Informal and formal requests for workplace support made last year while he was recovering from surgery were denied.

"I have spent much of my life building inclusive businesses and advocating for disabled people, and I continue to believe something very simple: inclusion is not charity and it is not political correctness. It is good leadership, good culture and good business," Millar said in a post on LinkedIn.

A spokesperson for the company responded to the claims. "We are aware of Sir Robin Millar's claims and strongly maintain that we have acted with integrity and in accordance with all relevant employment legislation and the Equality Act. We are confident the facts will support a favourable resolution. As these are ongoing tribunal proceedings, we have no further comment at this stage," the spokesperson said.

Before co-founding Blue Raincoat Music, Millar was involved in 44 No 1 hits and produced some of the biggest-selling artists of the 1980s, including Sade, Boy George and Fine Young Cannibals. He has chaired the disability charity Scope since 2020.

Debbie Abrahams, chair of the Commons work and pensions select committee, addressed the broader issue of workplace accessibility. "A major reason disabled people are much less likely to be in work or stay in work is the lack of accessibility of workplaces, something many of us take for granted. Although there is a legal duty to provide reasonable adjustments for disabled workers, in too many cases this isn't happening, often out of not knowing, but also a lack of understanding of the different adjustments that could be made," she said. The committee's report stated that "while some businesses did exemplary work for disabled workers, all too often accessibility was not seen as a priority."