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Nearly 1500 disabled employees and 400 managers recently responded to The Great Big Workplace Adjustments Survey 2023.
The survey assessed the extent to which the needs of disabled employees were being met and reached some interesting findings for employers.
The survey was run by the Business Disability Forum, a leading disability inclusion organisation.
It represents one of the most comprehensive pieces of research on the experiences of disabled employees when requesting adjustments in the workplace.
In this article, we summarise the survey findings, highlight the legal duties that employers need to be aware of in this area and finish with some useful best practice tips.
The key findings were as follows:
The responses demonstrate that employees with disabilities and long-term health issues wait an unacceptably long time for reasonable adjustments.
The vast majority reported having had to instigate the process themselves or even fund the adjustments out of their own pocket.
The survey's remit was not limited to adjustments but also touched on other disability-related barriers at work.
These included bullying and harassment, limited career progression and development opportunities, and the inaccessibility of well-being programs.
It's important for employers to provide appropriate support to employees with ongoing medical conditions.
Workplace adjustments are designed to alleviate a disadvantage that a particular person suffers due to a medical condition.
What represents a suitable and effective adjustment will be very case-specific.
However, examples might include:
Where an employee's medical condition is serious enough to qualify as a "disability" for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010, a legal duty is imposed on employers to make reasonable adjustments to remove or alleviate the disadvantages in work faced by the disabled employee.
A failure to make adjustments could result in an employer being hit with disability discrimination claims in the employment tribunal.
Even if the condition does not qualify as a disability, mishandling the situation by failing to offer appropriate support and adjustments to an employee with a medical problem could, in some cases, lead to other liabilities for an employer, such as unfair dismissal claims or breaches of an employer's health and safety obligations.
Aside from the legal reasons, support measures such as these can help ensure that employees feel supported, included and valued.
They can boost performance levels and foster stronger employee relations, create a safer working environment and improve retention levels.
An employer's legal duty to make reasonable adjustments is owed to both employees and job applicants who have a disability within the meaning of the Equality Act 2010 (and, in this context, "employees" carries a definition wide enough to include employees, workers and some self-employed individuals).
An individual's condition will meet the definition of a disability if they can show they have "a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities").
What will be a "reasonable" adjustment will vary depending on the circumstances, as the term is not statutorily defined.
However, the following factors should be weighed up by the employer:
It will often be appropriate to seek the advice of an occupational health specialist at an early stage, so that the employer can gather more information about employee’s health, what might be impeding them at work, and what adjustments could be implemented.
In most cases where there has been a failure to make reasonable adjustments, the individual is likely to first make an informal complaint or raise a formal grievance, which might offer the employer an opportunity to amicably resolve the issues.
In other cases, the matter may escalate to a discrimination claim in the employment tribunal.
Damages for discrimination claims are uncapped, and so the cost consequences can be severe.
Furthermore, discrimination claims can be reputationally damaging for an organisation.
We have put together some tips for employers to consider when dealing with disabled employees and when faced with a need to make reasonable adjustments.
Myerson's team of experienced employment law practitioners are well equipped to guide and support employers to navigate how best to manage risks relating to discrimination. Contact our employment lawyers on: