EMPLOYMENT LAW

The current legislative framework is founded on the Disability Discrimination Acts 1995 and 2005 (DDA), under which it is unlawful for employers to discriminate against disabled people for a reason related to their disability, in all aspects of employment, unless this can be justified. The DDA will be replaced by the Equality Act from 1 October 2010.

Sections:

When to ask your employer for support

Making Reasonable Adjustments

Recruitment and Promotion

Performance, Training and Development

Health and Safety in the Workplace

Leaving Work

When to ask your employer for support

(Source: Equality and Human Rights Commission)

It is important to begin the process of getting help as soon as possible to prevent your performance from being affected or your condition from being made worse because you do not have the appropriate support available for your disability/health issue.

Your employer has a legal responsibility to help you but they can’t help unless they know there is an issue. You can talk to your line manager or to someone in your occupational health team, or human resources or employee welfare department. You can also discuss it at your appraisal or during a health and safety review.

Making Reasonable Adjustments

(Source: Directgov)

Under the DDA, your employer has a duty to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ to make sure you’re not put at a substantial disadvantage by employment arrangements or any physical feature of the workplace.

If you don’t already have ‘reasonable adjustments’ at work, you may need changes to the support you get to help you do your job well, to gain new skills or if you get a new job.

Sometimes you don’t need any particular changes to begin with but that can change if:

your job changes;
your tasks change;
your health or disability needs change;
new technology or equipment could be of benefit to you;
your employer moves location;
you change the space you work in;
new systems, policies, or procedures are brought in.

FINDING A ‘REASONABLE’ ADJUSTMENT

(Source: Equality and Human Rights Commission)

Finding a ‘reasonable adjustment’ can be a creative process as there is no ‘one solution fits all’ method to use. You may be the best expert when it comes to your particular condition (unless you have recently acquired it) so, combined with your employer’s knowledge of the role and perhaps some expert advice, a very simple yet creative solution can often be found.

When talking to your employer, it may help if you have thought about possible solutions as well as problems.

You need to identify what is causing the difficulty for you:

Is it your physical surroundings, your chair, the lighting?
Is it your ability to do a part of your job because of your impairment?
Is it having to move equipment?
Is it taking part in training/meetings, perhaps because of communication issues?
Do you have too much to do and if so, is it causing you stress and anxiety?

Sometimes solutions are easy, and sometimes they are more complex. Occasionally, there may be no solution, but this is rare and in such circumstances, redeployment (taking up a different role) may be an option.

WHAT IS THE DUTY TO MAKE REASONABLE ADJUSTMENTS?

(Source: Equality and Human Rights Commission)

The duty to make reasonable adjustments is a legal responsibility under the DDA. It applies to people such as employers, service providers and education providers and is intended to make sure that disabled people do not face substantial difficulties in employment, education or when using services. Failure to make reasonable adjustments can be a form of discrimination and is unlawful.

The DDA defines a reasonable adjustment as a reasonable step taken to prevent a disabled person suffering a substantial disadvantage compared with people who are not disabled. In the case of employers, for example, the duty applies to any disadvantage caused by a provision, criterion or practice applied by, or on behalf of, the employer, or any physical feature of premises occupied by the employer.

A ‘substantial disadvantage’ is one that is not ‘minor’ or ‘trivial’.

The term ‘provision, criterion and practice’ covers an employer’s policies on offering work, terms and conditions, managing and dismissing staff, and the way in which these are carried out.

WHAT IS AN ADJUSTMENT?

(Source: Equality and Human Rights Commission)

An adjustment, in the context of the DDA, is a change. This can be a physical change or a change in the way something is done.

We all like to do things in different ways, and these likes and dislikes will be based upon a whole range of factors. For example, if five people went out to buy a kettle for their kitchen, it’s likely they would return with five different kettles.

A person’s choice is determined by their needs and desires, and their particular circumstances. An older person with arthritis who lives on their own may buy a very different kettle from someone who lives in a large household with three young children.

In a sense, we all make ‘adjustments’ in response to our individual needs when we make a choice.

Choice determines what we do and how we do it. If we have an impairment, we may choose to do things in a different way to reduce the effect of that impairment.

WHAT DOES ‘REASONABLE’ MEAN?

(Source: Equality and Human Rights Commission)

The DDA does not define ‘reasonable’, or give a complete list of what reasonable adjustments may be. Ultimately it is up to the courts to decide. This is because an adjustment is related to a particular individual, their experience of their impairment and the situation they are in. However, it does set out four tests of reasonableness.

1. The effectiveness in preventing disadvantage

How much will a reasonable adjustment reduce the disadvantage? The more effective an adjustment is in reducing disadvantage, the more reasonable it is likely to be.

2. The practicality of the step

It is more likely that an employer will be expected to take a step that is easy than to take a step that is hard. If disadvantage can easily be removed by changing the way things are done, or the

3. The financial and other costs and the extent of any disruption caused.

When trying to decide whether an adjustment would be reasonable, the cost of the adjustment and any disruption it might cause should also be considered.

Cost is not just about the price of making physical adaptations, for example, but also in terms of:

how experienced and skilled the employee concerned is;

the cost of replacing that employee;

how long the employee has been with the company (it is more likely to be reasonable to make an expensive adjustment for a permanent member of staff than a temp); and
whether the adjustment may be of benefit to other employees (disabled and non-disabled).

4. The extent of an organisation’s financial and other resources

An organisation with lots of money would be more likely to have to make a reasonable adjustment than one with fewer resources.

However, financial help from government schemes, such as Access to Work, is available to help in providing reasonable adjustments for employees. These funds must be taken into account when deciding how ‘financially reasonable’ an adjustment is.

The full financial resources of an organisation must be taken into consideration, not simply those of a particular site where an employee or service is based. For example, a large retail chain would have to think about its overall finances, not just those of one shop.

Other areas to consider when deciding what is reasonable

Although the DDA does not specifically mention any further factors, others may be relevant depending on the circumstances.

The effects on other employees: if a reasonable adjustment may affect other employees, their needs may need to be considered. For example, if you use software which speaks, it may be necessary for you to wear headphones to avoid disrupting other members of staff.

Adjustments made for other disabled people: if there are a number of disabled staff who find some aspect of the working environment difficult, then there is a greater need for an employer to make a significant change.

The extent to which you are willing to cooperate: if a service provider offers a fair reasonable adjustment to reduce

the adverse effect on you, but you do not like the adjustment, the service provider need do no more (if the adjustment is not fair, then this does not apply).

Most adjustments for disabled people cost nothing. For those that do, help is often available at work through Access to Work and in education via your local education authority or further/higher education funding organisations.

It costs nothing to treat someone fairly and with dignity; it rarely inconveniences others; and changes made for disabled people often make things better for other employees, students or service users.

WHAT IS A ‘PHYSICAL FEATURE’?

(Source: Equality and Human Rights Commission)

Physical features are defined as any of the following:

design or building features;
features on the way into or out of a building;
any fixtures, fittings, furnishings, furniture, equipment or materials in or on the premises; or
any other element of the land that the premises occupy.

They can be permanent or temporary. Examples include steps, stairways, kerbs, exterior surfaces and paving, seating in outdoor areas, parking areas, stiles and paths in country parks, building entrances and exits (including emergency escape routes), internal and external doors, gates, toilet and washing facilities, lighting and ventilation, lifts and escalators, floor coverings, signs, furniture, and movable items. This is not an exhaustive list.

Employers, education providers and service providers must consider making a reasonable adjustment to their premises if any of these parts of it are causing a substantial disadvantage to a disabled person.

Planning permission, or permission from the landlord, may be needed before some changes can be made.

EXAMPLES OF ‘REASONABLE ADJUSTMENTS’

(Source: Equality and Human Rights Commission)

Allocating some of the disabled person’s duties to another person

If there is a part of your job that is difficult or impossible to do, then it may be that getting someone else to do this, or restructuring the team so that the task is covered by other means, would be reasonable.

Transferring the person to an existing vacancy

If, after considering reasonable adjustments, you are still not be able to carry out the main aspects of a particular role, an alternative could be to look at moving jobs within the organisation. This is more likely to be ‘reasonable’ within a large company with different types of roles. A recent legal case (Archibald) established that it may sometimes be reasonable to consider moving someone to a more senior position.

Altering the person’s hours of working or training

Changing or reducing your hours could mean that you are able to continue with your job. Reduced hours might mean less pay but this could be replaced by tax credits, for example.

Work or training at a different location

If you find the location for regular work or for training difficult, it may be possible to move to another department or premises. Sometimes working from home is a solution.

Allowing the person to be absent during working or training hours for rehabilitation, assessment or treatment.
If you need time off during work hours to attend appointments for your health condition or disability, it is ‘reasonable’ to expect this from your employer so long as it is not possible to rearrange appointments out of work hours.

Giving, or arranging for, training or mentoring (whether for the disabled person or any other person)
If you need to attend training events, your employer might need to adapt the sessions so you are able to fully access the training. This might mean having additional support or setting up a new way of acquiring the information, such as mentoring or online learning.

Getting or changing equipment

One way your employer might be able to support you is to provide or adapt equipment to suit your particular needs – for example, by providing wrists rests if you have difficulties typing for any length of time or a CCTV for an employee with sight issues. If you are deaf or hearing-impaired, you may be able to use a work telephone modified with an amplifier or you might need a text telephone. Many of these pieces of equipment can be paid for by the Access to Work scheme.

Changing instructions or reference manuals

If you can’t access written materials, for example equipment and reference manuals, policies and procedures on fire evacuation, reports etc, then your employer could translate these into accessible formats such as large print, audio-cassette or mind maps (if you are dyslexic).

Modifying procedures for testing or assessment

You may be concerned about how you will take part in an internal assessment or testing session – such as for a promotion. It is reasonable to expect your employer to make these events accessible to you. This might include providing a support worker, using practical instead of written tests, giving extra time or providing written instructions in different formats.

Your employer may also use psychometric tests to assess intelligence, aptitude, personality and motivation. Only suitably trained people should carry out and interpret such tests, and expert advice should be sought on how and if the test can be changed to take account of disability or health issues. However, this might include extra time for you to read if you have dyslexia or provision of interpreters if you are deaf.

Your employer should ask you about any problems you might have with the tests, and how these problems could be overcome. They could:

provide practice examples to all candidates if possible;

make sure the venue is accessible to all staff; and

provide any equipment/support you need.

Providing a reader or interpreter

You may need someone to provide communication support for you at work or at interview, possibly by reading written information onto tape or directly for providing sign language interpretation. There is a national shortage of interpreters and other communication support staff nationwide, so your employer needs to plan ahead.

Providing supervision or other support

Especially when you first start a new job, you may need extra support and supervision. If this is provided, it is important that the person supporting you is relieved of some other duties so that they are able to fulfil the extra role. This counts as a reasonable adjustment.

For some organisations, it will be easier to make some alterations rather than others because of the nature of their business.

Other examples of possible adjustments

Conducting a proper assessment of what reasonable adjustments may be required.
Allowing flexible working, such as part-time work, annualised hours, non-standard start and finish times.
Allowing a disabled employee to take a period of disability leave.
Modifying disciplinary or grievance procedures.
Adjusting redundancy selection criteria.
Modifying performance-related pay arrangements.

The following table gives some simple suggestions for specific creative adjustments that can be made for certain disabilities or health conditions. Please note, it is not exhaustive, and the adjustments may not work for everyone.

Impairment	Task/difficulty	Adjustment
Hearing	Taking part in meetings	Palantypist
Hearing	Phone call	Videophone or textphone
Sight or anxiety conditions	New employee arriving at work	Colleague meets them at bus stop
Dyslexia	Writing a report	Mind mapping software
Dyslexia	Taking part in a meeting	Minutes in advance. Minutes in user friendly text
Severe asthma	Outreach around London	Taxis to and from nearest public trransport to appointements
Epilepsy	Long meetings on very long days	Frequent breaks, lots of cold drinks and a fan available
Learning disability	Taking minutes	Dictaphone and extra time to type up
Lupus	Attending work full time all year	Flexible working, such as compressed hours
Hearing	Getting details of venue of next appointment	Nokia communicator
Work related upper limb disorder	Admin day	Timing software which locks every 20 minutes
Stammer	Team meetings	Training for all other staff
Severe back pain	Operating a check out	Full ergonomic assessment and regular breaks
Autism	Fitting into new team	Assign a buddy especially to explain office ‘culture’
Depression	Reception duties from 8am	Adjust shift times to best part of day – after 11am
Anxiety/panic attacks	Travel in rush hour	Adjust working day to 11-7

RECRUITMENT AND PROMOTION

(Source: Equality and Human Rights Commission)

The DDA states that it is unlawful for an employer to discriminate against a disabled person during recruitment:

in the arrangements made for working out who should be given a job;
in the terms on which the disabled person is offered a job; or
by not offering a disabled person a job.

An employer does not need to predict applications from disabled people, but once they know an applicant is disabled and may be at a real disadvantage during the recruitment process (for example, because of the premises, application process or tests used), then they should make ‘reasonable adjustments’.

All employers, whatever their size or type, apart from the Armed Forces, are subject to the requirements of the DDA.

Recruitment agencies are considered ‘agents of the employer’ and are bound by codes of practice and regulation and have duties under the DDA as well as guidelines set by regulatory bodies.

The DDA does not stop an employer from getting the best person for the job. If a disabled person applies for a job and they are not the best person for the job, then the employer does not have to appoint them. However, if the way in which the employer has chosen the best person for the job discriminates against the disabled person, or if their way of getting someone does not make reasonable adjustments for a disabled person to allow them to show they are right for the job, then the employer may have treated the person less favourably, and may be liable to legal action.

The DDA does not stop employers from treating disabled people more favourably than those who are not disabled.

JOB ADVERTS

Advertising is one way in which employers attract applicants. All job adverts must comply with the DDA. Recruitment agencies and publishers (as an ‘employer’s agent’) would also be in breach of the DDA if an advert they produced or published was discriminatory.

Some adverts say that they ‘welcome applications from disabled people’ or from other specific sectors of society, which suggests that they have thought about their processes and are likely to have policies in place to support all members of staff.

Examples of possible discrimination in job adverts include:

‘lively and energetic’ – for a job that is done sitting down;
‘driving licence essential’ – for a job that requires limited travel, which would be feasible without driving;
‘good team player’ – when the job doesn’t involve working in a team; or
‘working on own’ – when there is always supervision and peer support.

If a company needs a person with a genuine skill specific to the job, this is not discriminatory. For example, it would be lawful for a company specialising in inner-city bicycle courier services to advertise for couriers who ‘must be able to ride a bicycle’.

Only the Equality and Human Rights Commission can take legal action against discriminatory adverts. However, you can request that an advert is taken into account by an employment tribunal when considering your case. If you identify an advert that you think discriminates, you can contact us.

The DDA does not stop employers asking for applications solely from disabled people or showing a bias for employing disabled people (except for local councils who come under Section 7 of the Local government and Housing Act 1989, which says that every job must be given on merit).

JOB DESCRIPTIONS AND PERSON SPECIFICATIONS

These documents must not include very small aspects of a job, where these could lead to discrimination against a disabled person who would have difficulty with one of these aspects, providing that is not really what the job is all about.

General exclusions on grounds of health (‘no one with diabetes’) or specific requirements for all jobs in a company (‘must be physically fit’) can lead to discrimination.

APPLICATION FORMS

Application forms should not ask questions that are not relevant to the job or situation, or ask for details that are not relevant about your disability.

An employer should provide you with any forms or information about a job in alternative formats, such as email, audiotape or CD, if requested to do so. They should also accept your application, with all information needed, in an accessible format. However, if you would not be ‘substantially disadvantaged’ by using their standard format, it would not be reasonable to ask for another format.

If an employer uses online recruitment and the website is not accessible to you, it is reasonable to request the application in another format, for example by email.

Health and disability questions or medical questionnaires

Employers may ask you to complete a medical questionnaire at some stage of the recruitment process, or they may include questions on an application form asking you to outline any medical problems or if you have seen a doctor in the last five years. You need to read the form carefully and perhaps get some advice on how best to answer.

The purpose of a medical questionnaire is to work out if there is a medical reason why you cannot do a job. If your disability or health condition causes an adverse effect on your ability to do the role, then the employer must consider any adjustments that would reduce this.

Medical advisors and occupational health departments are only ‘expert advisors’, sometimes known as ‘agents’. The final decision to employ rests with the employer.

It is important to answer questions about your health condition or disability positively. For example: ‘I have no adverse effects from a heart attack I had three years ago that would affect me in this job’ is a much stronger answer than: ‘Three years ago I had a heart attack and was in hospital for six weeks’. What is important is the effects of your disability or health condition and how these relate to the role you are going for.

Employers can ask disability-related questions to help make a recruitment decision or for equal opportunities monitoring purposes.

They can also ask about the effects of a disability in terms of the job for which are applying, such as: ‘Are there any changes in the workplace you would need to do this job?’

Good employers work out what reasonable adjustments you might need for interview and once appointed ask about the effects of your disability to decide what adjustments can be made at work.

Employers should not use the answers to disability questions to discriminate against a disabled person and should not ask general questions about the disability, such as how it came about or how long you have had it.

SHORT-LISTING

Some employers run ‘interview guarantee schemes’ where you will be short-listed for a job if you can prove you meet their minimum criteria.

Employers need to make reasonable adjustments when short-listing for interview. If they believe that you were at a ‘substantial disadvantage’ because of the application process, then a reasonable adjustment would be to short-list and interview you to clarify any unclear gaps or information.

MAKING REASONABLE ADJUSTMENTS AT INTERVIEWS

The employer can make various changes to where and how an interview takes place.

These might include:

using accessible premises;
ensuring that your communication needs are met, such as making sure a signer is available, or the interviewer is well positioned for lip-reading;
ensuring that you get a choice about time of interview;
ensuring that water is available if you want it; or
allowing you to be accompanied by a support worker, for example to assist with powerpoint presentations or slides.

The employer should ask if there are any adjustments that can be made which would be helpful. If they don’t ask, you can contact them to request adjustments. If you do not ask beforehand, there is still a duty to make adjustments when you get there, but it is possible that these adjustments may be less effective. This situation would make you and the employer uncomfortable and would not be a good starting point for an interview.

TESTING

Some employers use tests at interview – for example, psychometric tests, skills tests (such as literacy, typing, maths, administration skills) or asking candidates to make a presentation.

This process should not ‘substantially disadvantage’ you and adjustments should be made when needed. These could include:

giving you a reader or scribe during a written test;
allowing you longer to take a test;
accepting a lower pass rate if you are disadvantaged by the test procedure; or
allowing you to take a test using an adjustment you would have if you got the job; for example, a typing test may best be taken using an adapted keyboard if you would use this in the job.

ASSESSMENT CENTRES

When a number of assessments are made together, this is usually at an assessment centre. The idea is that your skills are tested in a number of ways by a number of people to give a broad overview of your abilities. This is often thought to be one of the fairest ways of assessing people.

It’s a good idea for you to discuss what you need to attend an assessment centre with a coordinator at the centre. Plans (practical and financial) may need to be made for personal assistants, assistance dogs, medication etc. You will be able to perform at your best if you know that the reasonable adjustments are all in place before you attend.

You may want to consider all or any of the following:

Do you have personal support needs outside of working hours? For example, using a dialysis machine in the evening with support from someone else to do this.
Do you have reduced sight and need help getting around new places?
Do you have personal care needs and require a personal assistant for dressing or personal care?
Do you have issues arising from activities at the centre (some activities may be ‘hands on’ or time-bound and cause difficulties for people with manual dexterity problems)?
Do you experience anxiety and if so, are there any adjustments when you first arrive, or later, that would help?

CONTRACTS / TERMS AND CONDITIONS

If you are on benefits, you need to check the length of contract as it may be difficult to go back onto ‘incapacity type’ benefits if the job finishes for reasons other than your health condition or disability.

The DDA says that an employer should not discriminate against you in the terms on which you are offered a job. An example of discrimination might be if the employer did not offer you the same terms about giving notice, redundancy, sickness or holiday pay as those offered to non-disabled staff.

INDUCTION

For many people, particularly those with disabilities, induction is one of the most important stages in the recruitment process. It may be the first time that you use the building, meet colleagues, and learn about the organisation and its procedures.

Your employer should consider whether the standard induction will work for you and if you need any adjustments. These might include:

a hearing loop for presentations;
alternative formats for manuals and presentation packs, such as Braille;
subtitles or signing on videos;
an alternative venue; or
one-to-one support, especially in the first few weeks.

Some adjustments might only be needed at the induction stage and not for the job itself.

Performance, Training and Development

(Source: Directgov, Equality and Human Rights Commission)

Employers should not discriminate against disabled employees in the way that they offer or provide training. Your employer must not deny you training opportunities because you are disabled. Your employer must also make reasonable changes to improve the accessibility of a training programme.

Appraisals and regular reviews can give you the chance to talk to your manager about specific new tasks or responsibilities and any adjustments or support you may need. You might also want to training or promotion. It can be a good time to talk about how your disability or health condition is being managed more generally at work, and to mention any ways in which they may have contributed to your achievements.

Your line manager should ensure that the paperwork and meeting are accessible to you and that you have enough time and information to prepare.

Training and development needs are usually identified as part of your appraisal/line management. One of the most important ways your employer can support your development is through training, and they should make sure you are able to access all training on offer to other employees. They should do this by consulting you about the best ways to make the training inclusive, such as sending you handouts before the day, providing follow-up mentoring, using more frequent rest breaks or providing training over a longer period of time.

Your employer is responsible for making sure that training providers comply with the requirements of the DDA.

It is also important that you are able to take part fully in all work events, team meetings, email briefings and away days. Again, you may be able to advise how best to do this. Some adjustments include ‘mind mapped’ information, team meetings with sign language interpreters, and accessible venues and transport for away days.

You may also need to have training set up just for you: for example, to use any adaptations or special equipment provided, or retraining to help you stay in your current role or adapt to a new role.

Training can be adjusted in the following ways:

one-to-one training for particular tasks;
adjustments to physical access to training locations;
improved lighting;
better signage;
adjustments to residential accommodation;
different timing for courses;
changes in style of presentation; or
allowing a trainee to bring a personal care attendant.

EARNING WHILE LEARNING

Apprenticeships are available for young people aged 16–24. They last between one and three years, and can help you to get hands-on experience of working, gain qualifications and earn money at the same time.

For employers they offer the chance to improve workforce skills and keep good staff.

Work Based Learning in England and Wales (Training for Work in Scotland) is a positive way to train or gain valuable work experience related to the job you want to do.

It can help you get a job, gain related skills and / or learn about self-employment. Basic employability training is also available for people who need extra help.

The scheme is mainly for over-25s, but some disabled people may be eligible from 18 years’ onwards.

You will agree a training plan to meet your specific needs. While you are training, you will receive an allowance, equivalent to any benefit you are entitled to, plus £10 per week and potentially also help with expenses, such as travel and childcare.

If you’re offered a job before you complete your training, you may still be able to complete your agreed training plan.

Health and safety in the workplace

(Source: Equality and Human Rights Commission)

If you have a disability or health condition, you are protected by both the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and the DDA. There will be times when a particular job or task puts your health or safety at such risk that it is not reasonable for an employer to allow you to perform it. However, such examples are rare, and health and safety should never be used as a false excuse for not employing, or not continuing to employ, you.

Under the Health and Safety at Work Act, employers must ‘ensure so far as is reasonably practicable the health, safety and welfare at work of all employees’. All employers must carry out a risk assessment of the activities carried out by workers. The risk assessment model considers the additional risks to certain groups of workers. You may, as a disabled person, fall into this category. If your employer thinks there is a specific health and safety risk involved in recruiting or retaining you, then under the DDA they need to consider reasonable adjustments.

The quality of the risk assessment is critical. Your employer may need to use specialist staff and the person doing the assessment must:

focus on you as an individual, not people with your condition in general;
consider the facts;
not make assumptions;
get individual specific medical advice; and
talk to you about how reasonable adjustments can be made.

The risk assessment should also consider the essential elements of the job; the length of time and frequency of any hazardous situations; and any reasonable adjustments that can be made to reduce the risk.

If there is still an unacceptable risk, even with adjustments, then the employer could lawfully dismiss or not employ you. The question is what is ‘unacceptable’: this can only be tested in the courts. Increasing case law precedent is being set, which gives further guidance to employers.

The employer is the person who must take the decision about whether to employ or retain you in a job. If they seek expert advice from medical services or health and safety specialists, these are agents of the employer, and the employer has a duty to ensure that the specialists have considered all the facts.

If you or your employer have concerns about health and safety, contact your local health and safety advisor, the Health and Safety Executive or the Employers’ Forum on Disability.

FIRE HAZARDS AND LIFTS

One thing that employers often worry about when thinking about employing a disabled person is what would happen in the event of a fire. This is often based on lack of information, with employers wrongly believing that wheelchair users should not be employed because they would not be able to escape from a building on fire where lifts were out of use. Deaf, hearing impaired blind people may also be discriminated against because people wrongly believe they won’t know there is a fire alarm or may ‘get in the way’ of colleagues trying to escape.

If you have a disability that may present a difficulty during a fire at your workplace, you need to have a discussion and draw up an agreed plan with your line manager and/or premises manager about this. There may be very simple changes that can be made to stop this from ever being a problem:

providing flashing lights as alarms, as well as things that make a noise;

making sure that colleagues working with deaf people have a basic awareness of sign language and deaf issues;

the establishment of a ‘buddy’ system to ensure wheelchair users are helped in an emergency;
providing a visually impaired person with named guides in case of fire;
providing temporary places of refuge for wheelchair users protected by fire resistant doors and from which there is a safe route to a final exit (the refuge may also have a means of communication to a central control point); or
training for staff in evacuation plans.

These plans should be made known to all staff concerned and tested at regular intervals. A well thought through evacuation plan should take into account the needs of every individual in the building, including, for example, women in the later stages of pregnancy. Very often, this can help to improve procedures and safety overall.

You may wish to discuss your needs in confidence, in which case only certain key individuals need know about your unique plan.

Leaving Work

(Source: Equality and Human Rights Commission)

The time will come when it is time for you to move on from a job or a company. This may be because you fancy a change, want to take a step up – or down. Sometimes, the employer may take the initiative in encouraging or making you leave. The law provides protection for people leaving work through redundancy and dismissal.

DISCIPLINE, CAPABILITY AND DISMISSAL

If you are faced with the prospect of disciplinary action, it is important that your employer establishes that the cause is not due to any reason related to your disability.

Disciplinary action on grounds unrelated to your disability, or which would not have been altered if reasonable adjustments had been made, is not likely to be discriminatory. Your employer should establish very early on whether disability has any relevance.

Your employer should still make any necessary reasonable adjustments for the disciplinary action and meetings.

If you are being dismissed on the grounds of capability, this should only be done following careful discussion, expert advice and research of all possible reasonable adjustments. It may be more appropriate to offer to move a disabled person to a different role than to dismiss on the grounds of capability.

REDUNDANCY

Your employer should generally use the same redundancy procedures for your as for any non-disabled employees. However, there are two areas where your employer needs to be careful not to discriminate against disabled people and those with health conditions.

The first is in establishing the pool for redundancy. For this process, selection criteria (such as length of service, ‘last in, first out’, some kind of measure of skills, qualifications, aptitude or performance, or attendance or disciplinary records) could potentially discriminate against a disabled person. For example, the employer may ask managers to assess employees against a chosen selection criterion, such as attendance, and they could then make negative assessments of their disabled employees based on inaccurate assumptions – such as above average time off due to hospital appointments.

The second area where discrimination could take place is during the consultation period normally carried out during a redundancy period. Your employer needs to check that the information you have been given is in an accessible format and that you have understood what is being done so that you can take part fully in the process.

PENSIONS

There are three main types of pension you may be entitled to:

• The basic state pension: a flat rate pension payable from your state pension age.

Even if you have not always worked, you should still qualify for a pension. There are special rules to help people who have not always paid national insurance contributions during their working life.

Your contribution record will be credited as having paid if you received any of the following when you weren’t earning:

invalid care allowance;
disability working allowance;
jobseeker’s allowance;
incapacity benefit;
severe disablement allowance.

• A personal pension plan: an investment policy designed to offer a lump sum and income in retirement. This is available to most UK residents, including children.

You can contribute up to £3,600 per annum or percentage of salary if higher (the percentage determined by your age)

It is available to members of occupational schemes (certain rules apply)

It cannot be accessed before age 50 and you must purchase an annuity (yearly payment) by age 75

It has virtually tax free growth

You get up to a 25% tax free lump sum at retirement

Tax relief is given on contributions at highest tax rate

• An occupational pension plan: a pension arrangement set up by employers to provide income in retirement for their employees.
Under the DDA, every occupational pension scheme has a ‘non-discrimination’ rule. This means that trustees and pension managers are under similar duties as employers not to treat you less favourably because of a reason related to disability. If you believe you are being discriminated against, you should complain through the pension’s dispute resolution mechanism. Accessible information on your scheme and how to complain should be made available to you by law.

In some cases, your employer may also provide an ill health pension, designed to support employees who are no longer able to work due to illness or disability. If you are not sure if your organisation has one or if you are covered, speak to your HR or line manager or ask the trustees of the pension scheme for a copy of the rules on ill health.

Other companies set up permanent health insurance schemes – arrangements with insurance companies, which are separate from pension schemes. You should check whether your organisation has this kind of arrangement.

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EMPLOYMENT LAW

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