The failure of an employer to make appropriate adjustments for an employee or candidate with a disability constitutes discrimination under the 2010 Act. In most cases, the person is likely to make an informal complaint or make a formal complaint about the employer. Combating discrimination against persons with disabilities in the workplace requires measures that go beyond dealing with individual complaints of discrimination. Employers have a responsibility to consider what steps they can take to avoid discrimination by taking a proactive and informed approach to reviewing workplace practices and policies to ensure compliance. The Equality Act states that there is an obligation to make appropriate adjustments if you are significantly disadvantaged because of your disability compared to non-disabled people or people who do not share your disability. Substantial means more than minor or trivial. The cause of a disability or the diagnosis made is not necessarily important when it comes to providing appropriate adjustments when it comes to the impact of the employee`s or candidate`s ability to perform daily tasks. It is therefore not possible to list a number of conditions that still fall within the legal definition of “disability”, since each case depends on the impact and severity of the impairment. Employers can be taken on the assumption that the obligation to make reasonable adjustments does not arise until the employee has a disability under the Equality Act 2010. Employers are also required to take proactive steps to consider appropriate adjustments before a disability occurs. This is especially true if the impairment is foreseeable, as it is likely to occur if the employer does not make the appropriate adjustments.
Your university has a policy that only allows students to park in student parking lots. You have a mobility restriction, which means you need to be able to park near your teaching location. This is not always possible, as the allocated parking spaces are only on one side of the campus. If you can park in designated parking spaces throughout the campus, this is likely an appropriate adjustment to the parking policy so you can attend your classes. Your employer is advised to discuss adjustments with you, otherwise the adjustments they make may not be effective. The obligation to make appropriate employment adjustments only arises if the employee or candidate is likely to be at a significant disadvantage in the exercise or application for a position compared to others. This means that the disabled person must be affected in a more than minor or trivial way. Common examples of appropriate adjustments that employers should consider include: If an employee has a medically recognized disability under the Equality Act, 2010, the employer is required to make appropriate adjustments under section 20 of the Act.
Everyone experiences disability differently. It is therefore important not to make generalizations where some people have minimal impact on their daily activities and get by quite easily at work, while others will experience severe effects. You need to listen to what a worker says about the day-to-day effects of their disability and show them the difficulties they face and listen to any suggestions. The onus is on the employer to demonstrate that the adjustments made are appropriate when a small business may not be able to afford the same level of adjustments as a large business. However, if a disabled worker or candidate claims that you have not gone far enough in making the appropriate adjustments, you must still prove that your actions are justified. An employer is not required to make appropriate adjustments unless it reasonably knows or ought to know that the person concerned is disabled and is likely to be significantly disadvantaged by his or her disability. An appropriate adjustment under the Equality Act 2010 generally includes elements such as a gradual return to work, changes in duties and modified working hours after sick leave. This could also include physical adjustments, such as installing a ramp or using special equipment, such as an ergonomic chair.
Our animation shows examples of the type of adjustments your employer could make. If appropriate adjustments are made, you should clearly record them again and regularly review the adjustments to ensure they remain effective in the future. If, on the other hand, there are no reasonable adjustments that can be made, you must explain the reasons for doing so. Also, given the potential risk of a complaint of unlawful discrimination, it`s always best to seek the advice of a legal expert to minimize your exposure to a legal claim. An employer`s legal obligation to make appropriate adjustments is due to both employees and candidates who have a disability within the meaning of the law. A person is treated as disabled if he can prove that he has the following: If someone does not cooperate with his duty to make the appropriate adjustments, the Equality Act states that this constitutes unlawful discrimination. You can ask the person or organization to make the necessary changes. If you refuse, you can make a claim of discrimination under the Equality Act. Once the obligation to make appropriate adjustments has arisen, the employer must take steps to determine the nature of the person`s impairment and the nature of the adjustments necessary to assist the person in the performance of his or her duties or in applying for employment. This should include, where appropriate, participation in interviews or participation in other stages of the recruitment process.
If the obligation occurs, the employer must effectively treat the person with a disability more favourably than others in order to reduce or eliminate that person`s disadvantage. The Equality Act 2010 states that changes or adjustments must be made to ensure that you have access to the following things if you are disabled: If you need adjustments, this is not a valid reason for your employer to fire you or not promote you if you are the best person for the job with the adjustments made. (This assumes that the adjustments are appropriate). The obligation to make appropriate adjustments for workers with disabilities requires employers to consider what is “appropriate”. But how can employers ensure that they stay on the right side of this requirement? We summarize five examples where the courts have found that the obligation was triggered. Your employer may be responsible for paying you compensation and making appropriate adjustments. The Equality Act states that you should never be asked to pay for adjustments. An employer cannot justify not making an appropriate adjustment, but what is considered “reasonable” depends on the facts of the case in question. This could include the cost of adjustments and the amount of resources available to the employer.
As a useful starting point, you should review and evaluate all fitness scores for work where an employee has been ill due to illness or injury. The adjustment note often includes recommendations from the person`s primary care physician about adjustments that can be made to help them reintegrate into the workplace, such as gradual return, modified tasks, modified work hours, or adjustments to work. You can also ask the employee to agree to an occupational health assessment. This can happen even if they have not been absent from work but have problems in the performance of their professional role due to their disability. The employer only needs to make adjustments if they know – or should reasonably know – that you have a disability. The obligation to make appropriate adjustments is a unique selling point of the Disability Discrimination Act. Some people or organizations may have a certain way of doing things, making it difficult for you to access or do something.