Under the Equality Act 2010 (EA), it is a violation of the law for an employer to discriminate against anyone who is disabled, whether they are an employee or someone who applies for a job. This equality and diversity legislation also relates to the recruitment, promotion and dismissal of your employees. As you make the reasonable adjustments the law requires, you must also ensure that a disabled individual will not be at a significant disadvantage in comparison to someone else who does not have that disability.
Recognizing disability
In Great Britain, approximately one in every five adults is disabled, and the legal definition of the term is quite broad. According to the EA, a disabled individual is one with a mental or physical handicap that hampers necessary, daily activities. In addition, those with multiple sclerosis, cancer, HIV infection or certain visual conditions are automatically classified as being disabled.
Dealing with poor job performance
When a disabled person is doing poorly on the job, you may legally discipline or dismiss them, provided that you would take the same steps with an employee who is not disabled. If a disabled employee's unacceptable performance is related to the disability, reasonable accommodations must be made to ensure that the employee can properly perform the job.
What are "reasonable adjustments"?
Keep your business practices and policies up to date to ensure that your disabled workers are on a level playing field with non-disabled workers, as is required by current equality and diversity legislation. In addition, employers need to offer the accommodations that are needed to prevent an employee who is disabled from suffering a disadvantage. This could include additional or modified equipment for doing the job, and the employer must also be fully aware that such a disadvantage exists.
Preventing the problem
To prevent future problems, employers would do well to understand any adjustments that a disabled applicant or employee may feel need to be made specifically for them. Employers need to always take the first step under these circumstances, instead of the person with the disability, however they need to know that questions related to health are limited before offering them a job.
Promoting a company-wide consciousness of EA regulations ensures that you comply with anti-discrimination policies while also projecting a positive image to potential employees as well as to your customers, suppliers and other industry associates.
