Top Tips: Equality in the Workplace for Disabled Employees

1. Do not ask questions about an employee’s physical or mental health during the recruitment process, including their sickness record. The only exception is inquiring whether interview attendees require adjustments to the application and interview process, such as larger print for forms and a longer time scale to complete competency tests. See our factsheet for more information on Diversity and Equality and the Recruitment Process.
2. If your prospective or current employee discloses that they are disabled, ensure that you discuss how their disability affects This is to understand whether any Reasonable Adjustments can be made in the workplace to support them and alleviate any substantial disadvantage. See our factsheet on Reasonable Adjustments for Disabled Employees.
3. If your employee is on sick leave, use your Back to Work Interview to discuss their health problems. This is an opportunity to consider whether your employee is likely to have a disability within the meaning of the Equality Act 2010. Remember, you may be liable for disability discrimination if you knew, or ought reasonably to have known, that your employee was disabled. See our factsheet here on assessing whether your employee is disabled.
4. If your company cannot afford to make a particular adjustment requested by your employee, you or your employee should contact Access to Work to establish whether government funding is available. Examples include taxi fares to and from work and adaptations to equipment.
5. Consider contacting relevant charities or organisations specific to your employee’s disabilities, as many provide useful help and advice. For example, the Employment Support Retraining Agency (ESRA) in Surrey helps employees with disabilities stay at work.
6. Ensure that if you have an Equal Opportunities Policy, you train your staff so that they know to follow it. Employment Tribunal Judges will always ask if there is an Equal Opportunities or Equality and Diversity policy when dealing with discrimination cases. It is just as bad to have a policy but not act on it as to have no policy at all.
7. Many disabilities are not obvious, particularly mental health impairments. Look out for changes in your employees’ usual behaviour. This can include a marked drop in performance, tiredness, increased sickness absence, and out-of-character behaviour such as aggression.
8. Reasonable Adjustments may mean adjusting your policies to ensure a level playing field. For example, if you are making a redundancy, and sickness absence is one of the criteria, you must discount any disability-related See our FAQs on Redundancy Criteria and Selection and Discrimination.
9. If disciplining an employee, carry out a careful investigation to ensure that what you consider a ‘won’t do’ (misconduct) is actually a ‘can’t do’ (capability). For example, aggressive behaviour from an employee to a colleague caused by high levels of anxiety and stress would be better dealt with as a capability issue in order to provide appropriate support.
10. Ensure ongoing training on all equality issues for all people managing or supervising colleagues to ensure best practices and a harmonious workplace. If you need advice, please view workplace training courses on Human Resource Consultancy & Training.

For more employment disability discrimination advice for employers to ensure you’re avoiding discrimination and supporting staff with disabilities in the workplace, please get in touch with our Employment Solicitors on 01273 609911, or email info@ms-solicitors.co.uk.