Disability is a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010 which makes disability discrimination unlawful in employment. Not all disabilities are obvious and employers are often confused as to their obligations. We start by understanding the definition of a disability in terms of employment.
Substantial impact on day-to-day activities
The easiest way to describe a disability for employment reasons, is that an employee has an impairment, mental or physical which has a significant impact on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities and the adverse effect is substantial and long term. Not all disabilities are obvious.
Long term
For a disability to be considered “long-term” the impairment will have lasted for at least 12 months, likely to last for at least 12 months or for the rest of their life. This could include receiving treatment for a condition like cancer, epilepsy or diabetes even if current and well managed with medication.
Progressive conditions
An employee who has a progressive condition, even if it does not yet have a substantial adverse effect, but which is likely to do so in the future, should be assessed regularly to understand any adjustments the employer may need to consider. For example lupus, dementia, HIV, multiple sclerosis and motor neurone disease.
Past disability
The definition of disability includes employees who have had certain conditions in the past for example Cancer, even if they are in remission they are still protected.
What does the employer need to do?
An employer needs to be proactive in their support of any employee who falls within these disability categories.
Once an employer is aware of an employee with a disability it is essential to meet with them to understand the condition more fully and how it impacts on their daily life and work. Medical information is confidential and is highly sensitive and employers should agree with the employee as to how the information is used and ensure it is stored in line with data protection regulations.
It is likely that the company may need to obtain medical guidance from the employee’s specialists to fully understand the impact the condition is having on the individual. Guildford HR recommends planning follow ups, this is dependent on the situation, for example a follow up discussion could take place after 6 months or 12 months, or more frequently if an employee has been recently diagnosed and is being offered a range of treatments. Record keeping is very important to demonstrate how the company has carried out its’ duties.
The law requires that reasonable adjustments are made and these may need to be adapted over time. Various conditions may require a more in depth workspace assessment, this could include improved lighting, a colleague who has hearing difficulties or is partially sighted may need different equipment, lightening etc.
An employer is not liable for disability discrimination if they did not know or could not reasonably have been expected to know, that the employee had the disability.
If your business needs guidance in this area, Guildford HR can help you, so contact us today on 01483 362732 or hello@guildford-hr.co.uk for a free of charge discovery call.
