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DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION ACT - reasonable adaptations
anoneemouse
Posts: 166 Forumite
Under the D.D.A. employers have a duty to make "reasonable adaptations" for disabled employees to be able to do their jobs.
My employer is now stating that they dont have to do this any longer - unless the disability is such that the worker concerned has to have various adaptations to cope with their disability in their leisure time.
As there are various disabilities that only or mainly show in a work context - but the person manages to undertake leisuretime activities okay - then this would affect some employees if true.
This employer does lie a lot to us and is trying to cut staff numbers in any way they can think of - so this could just be their latest lie to trick people into leaving.
Is this true?
My employer is now stating that they dont have to do this any longer - unless the disability is such that the worker concerned has to have various adaptations to cope with their disability in their leisure time.
As there are various disabilities that only or mainly show in a work context - but the person manages to undertake leisuretime activities okay - then this would affect some employees if true.
This employer does lie a lot to us and is trying to cut staff numbers in any way they can think of - so this could just be their latest lie to trick people into leaving.
Is this true?
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Comments
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They're trying to get out of their legal responsibilities. Here's a link to some information about "reasonable adjustments": http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/yourrights/equalityanddiscrimination/Disability/Pages/Makingreasonableadjustments.aspx#What%20is%20the%20duty%20to%20make%20reasonable%20adjustments?
Hpe this helps!C'est le ton qui fait la chanson0 -
Not at all. Ive never heard this in my life!
What any disabled person will do in thier leisure time is likely to be influenced by what thier body allows them to do. You dont find many tetraplegics mountain biking ( for example)
What YOU do in your leisure time is not of concern to your employer. Your employer simply cannot legislate for the time you spend out orf your workplace.
I had DDA and resonable adjustments assssment. my "disability" was a mobility problem ( fainting, collapsing, especially in busy & hot places ( eg london underground) and the majority of my difficulty was GETTING to work in the first place.
If you re disabled ie you cant lift heavy boxes at work, youd simply avoid doing it at home ( getting a pertner to do it for example)
this sounds very mad to me.:beer: Well aint funny how its the little things in life that mean the most? Not where you live, the car you drive or the price tag on your clothes.
Theres no dollar sign on piece of mind
This Ive come to know...
So if you agree have a drink with me, raise your glasses for a toast :beer:0 -
My understanding of the DDA (I have been typing up Dr reports for work situations for the last 3 months) is that a medical condition may come under the DDA if the person is going to be affected for the rest of their life by something. And the employer is asked if they can make reasonable adjustments to accommodate the disability.
The type of reasonable adjustments I have seen suggested to employers have been: somebody who cannot sit in one position for too long being allowed to change their hours of work to 10am from 9am so they aren't stuck in rush hour traffic; somebody not doing night-shifts any more as their medical condition requires them to maintain regular hours (e.g. diabetes); somebody no longer being put down for lone working because they cannot work alone safely (e.g. epilepsy); having workstation assessments carried out for people with back problems; people having work/job stress assessments carried out for people with stress/anxiety issues.
But each case is different. Each person is different. Each job is different. Each organisation is different. The ability of a company to accommodate changes is different in every case.
A company cannot be required to MAKE adjustments that somebody else decides are reasonable. A company is just asked IF they can make reasonable adjustments - and these reasonable adjustments are usually best suggested by a qualified Occupational Health Physician.
So, I can't go to my boss and say: "My back hurts, that's why I am off a lot, so I will start at 10am or you're breaking the law".
And whereas such a reasonable adjustment might be doable in a large organisation/department that has a degree of flexibility, it might NOT be reasonable in another company operating under a different culture.0 -
anoneemouse wrote: »As there are various disabilities that only or mainly show in a work context - but the person manages to undertake leisuretime activities okay - then this would affect some employees if true.
Can you give examples....?0 -
Thanks for replying -PasturesNew - I have PM'ed you, as this is a bit "sensitive" in the circumstances! so you can see what I mean.0
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A follow-up thought - if the company refused to make reasonable adaptations they could perfectly well make and, as a result, a disabled employee was no longer able to do their job - then what would happen to that employees job? Would the company HAVE to give them early retirement on ill health grounds or make them redundant - or would it be legally possible for the company to actually sack the person concerned.0
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If the company refused to make reasonable adjustments then, by definition, they are being unreasonable. If the employer compounded this by firing the employee concerned, the employee could ultimately complain to an Employment Tribunal who can award compensation (which can take into account future losses).0
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This employer may be misinterpreting the DDA in that the definition of disability contained in the act makes reference to substantial impact on normal day to day activities. Have a look here for the definition of disability.
If a person meets the criteria to be defined as disabled under the Act, then they are entitled to have reasonable adjustments made for them in the workplace. Leisure activities shouldn't be any of the employer's concern.
A person's condition needn't affect them for the rest of their life though for them to be disabled under the Act.
Hope this helps.
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This employer may be misinterpreting the DDA in that the definition of disability contained in the act makes reference to substantial impact on normal day to day activities. Have a look here for the definition of disability.
If a person meets the criteria to be defined as disabled under the Act, then they are entitled to have reasonable adjustments made for them in the workplace. Leisure activities shouldn't be any of the employer's concern.
A person's condition needn't affect them for the rest of their life though for them to be disabled under the Act.
Hope this helps.
Thanks for that. Guess - from that - there might be a problem with whether holding down a job constituted a normal "everyday activity". Obviously eating/washing/walking/shopping are and we all clearly need to be able to do these. I would rate a job as a normal everyday activity as well - as many of us have to have one and duly do so if we can.0 -
PasturesNew wrote: »My understanding of the DDA (I have been typing up Dr reports for work situations for the last 3 months) is that a medical condition may come under the DDA if the person is going to be affected for the rest of their life by something.
An impairment should have been present for 12 months to qualify, there is no requirement under the act for the impairment to be lifelong.
Edit: Only after posting did i realise Flego had already supplied that information.Don’t be a can’t, be a can.0
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