Returning to work – adjusting the workplace for employees with disabilities
It is essential that employers continue to ensure the workplace is both safe and free from discrimination for all employees as restrictions eventually ease and when they return to work. Employers are required to make reasonable adjustments to accommodate employees with a disability to ensure they do not suffer a disadvantage that non-disabled employees do not. In this article, we look at some key matters employers should consider.
What do employers need to consider when looking at reasonable adjustments?
The aim of making reasonable adjustments should be to remove, as far as possible, any substantial disadvantage faced by a disabled worker that a non-disabled worker does not experience. When making decisions about reasonable adjustments, all relevant circumstances should be considered, including:
- How practical the adjustment is
- The cost of the adjustment
- How effective the adjustment would be in reducing the disadvantage experienced by the disabled employee.
- The size of your organisation and its resources
What types of adjustments should employers consider?
Broadly speaking, there are three types of adjustments you may wish to look at.
Changes to policies and procedures
The pandemic has introduced new models of working in most sectors, and many people have spent months working from home. If disabled employees have been working from home and you have found this to be successful, you may wish to consider whether allowing them to continue working from home would be more suitable for their wellbeing. For example, the physical workplace could put their safety at risk if they have been unable to be vaccinated, or they may be nervous about returning.
Adjustments to help disabled employees with physical barriers in the workplace
While your workplace may have been suitable for disabled employees in the past, social distancing measures may mean substantial changes to the layout of your operations. You should ensure that disabled employees are not negatively impacted by things such as access to a temporary office, layout changes that make it difficult for them to move around, or access to disabled toilets or lifts.
Providing extra equipment to help an employee carry out their role
A good example is where a disabled employee finds it easier to work from home. In this case, employers may need to provide equipment to allow them to do so most effectively. For example, providing a laptop or software. Another example is that where you have an employee who is deaf, you should supply their co-workers with transparent face shields, which will allow the employee to lip-read.
The most important step employers can take is to actively consider the needs of their disabled employees. Those with a disability may have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic and the restrictions and could have different needs when returning to the workplace.
If you would like any more information relating to this article, then please feel free to contact me: Telephone me 020 8221 8032, email me or visit my profile.
This is not legal advice; it is intended to provide information of general interest about current legal issues.
