What Are My Responsibilities as an Employer Towards Workers With a Disability?

As an employer, you must comply with your legal obligations towards those in your business with a disability. In addition, there are good practices you can implement in the workplace to effectively and sensitively work alongside workers with a disability. Putting in place good practices is beneficial for your business and a great way to retain valuable staff. This article will explain how to deal with disability in the workplace, including what a disability is, your legal obligations, and examples of good practice.

What is a Disability?

A disability is where a person has 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. 

Some conditions employment law considers as a disability include:

• cancer;
• HIV;
• multiple sclerosis (MS); and
• a visual impairment.

Additionally, a progressive condition is something that gets worse as time passes, such as a person with Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s disease. As with the definition of a disability, a progressive condition is considered a disability that affects a person’s day-to-day- activities and is likely to be long-term. It is a disability once the effect starts. Unlike the definition of disability, the effect does not have to be substantial but will probably be substantial in the future. 

How Can an Employer Tell if an Employee Has a Disability?

Determining whether a staff member has a disability is not just about thinking of their impairment. Indeed, it is more appropriate to consider how their impairment affects them. Ultimately, this assessment requires having open conversations with your workers. Importantly, you cannot simply assume the circumstances of your workers.

Additionally, when looking at the effect of an impairment on a person, you must do so without considering the benefit they get from any:

• medication; 
• treatment; or 
• aid. 

However, you may think of benefits they get from certain things, such as glasses or contact lenses.  

What Are an Employer’s Legal Obligations?

As an employer, you are legally obliged to ensure that you do not discriminate against your employee who has a disability. Notably, discrimination can occur through your business’ recruitment, redundancy and retirement processes. As such, you must be aware of your legal obligations to ensure you avoid employment issues like grievances. 

Below are two key ways to effectively manage and deal with disability in the workplace. 

1. Make Reasonable Adjustments

As an employer, if your staff member has a disability, you must make reasonable adjustments for them. This is a legal requirement providing that the change needed is reasonable. Importantly, this is a contextual question that will depend on the situation. 

A reasonable adjustment is where you make a change to either reduce or eliminate the disadvantage that a person with a disability has. This could look like:

• changing something in their working environment;
• providing extra equipment or services, like a chair that supports the back for someone with a back problem;
• changing how things take place; or
• providing information in a format that the person with a disability can more easily access, such as a phone that a person with a hearing aid can use.

Additionally, you must make reasonable adjustments where:

• the person with the disability asks you to;
• you are aware or should be aware that the person has a disability;
• the person with the disability is struggling with their role; or
• the person’s disability is affecting their sickness absence.

2. Be Aware of Workplace Discrimination Laws

Disability discrimination is against the law. This can include:

• direct discrimination or indirect discrimination against workers based on disability;
• not making reasonable adjustments where you should;
• harassment;
• victimisation; and
• discrimination stemming from a worker’s disability.

As an employer, you should do what you can to ensure that discrimination does not happen in your workplace. For example, you can achieve this by:

• training staff on disability discrimination; and
• letting your workplace know it is against the law to discriminate based on a disability.

Notably, you should keep any complaint about disability discrimination confidential. Further, you should be fair and sensitive towards the person who raised the complaint, any witnesses, and the accused.

You should also try to reduce the effect of disability discrimination on your staff. For example, you can do this by:

• ensuring it is easy to make a complaint;
• supporting those who have been discriminated against; and
• offering mental health support to staff.

Good Practices When Managing Disability in the Workplace

There are some good practices you can carry out in the workplace to deal with those with a disability.

1. Think About Language

It is worth asking those with disabilities if they have any language preferences regarding what terms you should avoid or say in the workplace. This can help ensure that you and your staff do not feel awkward.

There are some points you should be aware of, like:

• avoid the word ‘suffering’ as it gives the perception of a disabled person as a victim;
• do not use terms that group people together, such as ‘the deaf’ or ‘the disabled’;
• do not label a person by their disability, so do not say ‘she is a diabetic’; and
• avoid calling those without a disability as ‘able-bodied’ because a disability can be physical or mental. 

2. Be Aware of Your Communication

In addition to thinking about the language you use, how you communicate with employees dealing with a disability is also vital. For example:

• speak to those who have a disability as you do others;
• be respectful that the information people may wish to disclose about their disability may differ;
• do not speak to a person’s support worker rather than directly to them; and 
• do not be afraid to ask when you do not understand what a person is saying.

3. Remember Your Obligations When Recruiting

When recruiting staff, you cannot ask a candidate about their health or potential disability. However, there are exceptions, including where it is necessary to:

• see if the person can attend an interview;
• understand any reasonable adjustments for the interview;
• check if the person can carry out a part of the role which is essential to it;
• assist in increasing your number of workers with a disability;
• allow you to monitor your staff; and 
• where national security checks require you to.

Likewise, when recruiting, you should always consider all kinds of applicants, including those with a disability. This will give you access to a broader group of potential candidates and, therefore, more talent. In addition, you may want to state your commitment to those with disabilities and advertise through a range of sources. Such sources should include reaching out to those with a disability.

4. Aim to Retain Staff

When you effectively manage staff with a disability, you promote a positive work environment that has the added benefit of retaining quality staff. Moreso, retaining staff saves you money and time in the long term. 

Notably, your staff may begin their employment without a disability. So, you need to be mindful of how you treat them, should they later develop a disability. For example, always be sensitive and supportive of staff members coming to terms with this change in their lives.

5. Manage Sickness Effectively

Where you have staff with a disability, you need to think about your obligations when managing sick leave. For example, you should learn to recognise where sickness may be due to the disability and how you can support your staff in these instances.

6. Promote Disability Equality in the Workplace

A good employer will promote disability equality in the workplace. You could do this, for example, through:

• providing flexible work arrangements;
• allowing for job sharing;
• making alterations to a staff member’s work schedule; or
• providing training to all members of staff concerning disability discrimination.

Also, ensure you consider how those with a disability can access job opportunities and have the support to do so. For example, how do they access the training you provide, and how will your management processes affect them.

Key Takeaways

You have responsibilities towards your staff who have a disability. Your duties towards those with disabilities are not limited to just when they are employed with your business. Indeed, you also have responsibilities during the recruitment process. For example, it is normally unlawful to ask a person about their disability or health during this process. Likewise, you must make reasonable adjustments when a staff member has a disability. As an employer, you must try to prevent disability discrimination from happening in your workplace. Where you are not sure whether or not you need to make a reasonable adjustment, it is safest to take legal expert advice. 

If you need help understanding your responsibilities as an employer towards workers with a disability, our experienced employment lawyers can assist as part of our LegalVision membership. For a low monthly fee, you will have unlimited access to lawyers to answer your questions and draft and review your documents for a low monthly fee. So call us today on 0808 196 8584 or visit our membership page.

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