Reasonable Adjustments: Recent Episodes
Alison Colley
An update on the Law and best practice for managing and recruiting staff and for dealing with any issues that may arise. An easy to listen to legal and practical update.
How employers can assist employees with sight or hearing loss to succeed at work. Interview with expert in this area Dan Williams.
In this episode 215 of the podcast I bring you an interview with Jan Brookes who is the CEO of a local Isle of Wight Charity, Isle Access. Jan is an expert in assisting businesses and organisations to be more accessible.
An interview with Terri Brookes In this weeks' episode I interview Terri Brookes who applied for a job as a trainee solicitor with the Government Legal Service (GLS) and requested a reasonable adjustment as a result of her aspergers. When the GLS refused to make adjustments to their recruitment process Terri made a claim in the Employment Tribunal. After winning her case in the Employment Tribunal the GLS appealed to the Employment Appeal Tribunal and Terri successfully defended her claim.
In this episode I will cover: * The facts of the case; * The reasons why Terri pursued the case; * Helpful guidance on reasonable adjustments that are required and should be considered in the recruitment process; * Why you need to treat each person with disabilities individually in the recruitment process; * Key points about cases in the Employment Appeal Tribunal.
Action Points 1. If you are recruiting and you have tests or assessments then consider how these may impact those with disabilities; 2. Consider how you would provide information and application forms, for example, if you had a candidate with a disability; 3. Seek advice if you are unsure or you are presented with an unusual situation; 4. I can help with all of the points above so why not give me a call and let an expert take care of it for you 023 8098 2006 or 01983 897003.
Useful Links & Case References The Government Legal Service v Brooks - Employment Appeal Tribunal
Read the full judgement here
You can read my case summary and comment: click here
You can connect with Terri on Twitter - @TIBrookes
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Would you like advice about your situation? Appointments are available on the telephone or via Skype throughout the UK.
Alternatively I offer face to face appointments on the Isle of Wight, in Eastleigh, Southampton, Fareham, Portsmouth, Winchester and surrounding areas in Hampshire.
The information contained in this Podcast and post is provided for guidance and is a snapshot of the law at the time. It is provided for your information only and should not be used as a substitute for obtaining legal advice that it specific to your particular circumstances.
The guidance should not be relied upon in any decision making process. It is strongly recommended that you seek advice before taking action.
Mental Health & Disability Mental Health of employees is a difficult subject for employers to tackle and there are a number of implications of getting it wrong. In this mini series I will be focusing on Mental Health at Work and providing some hints, tips and legal advice for employers. The focus in this episode is the legal implications and requirements of employers.
In this episode I will cover: * The definition of disability and how it applies to mental health; * The distinction between disability and stress at work or work related stress conditions; * Who has the burden of proving disability; * The importance of medical advice and opinion; * Implied knowledge of disability and when an employer will have implied knowledge; * Employer's obligations to a disabled employee; * Types of reasonable adjustments for a disabled employee with a mental impairment.
Action Points 1. Discuss with any employees who display signs of mental health issues or long term health conditions; 2. Provide support and systems in place for identifying reasonable adjustments for employees; 3. Encourage employees to disclose medical conditions; 4. Seek advice and assistance to ensure the best practice in your business; 5. I can help with all of the points above so why not give me a call and let an expert take care of it for you 023 8098 2006 or 01983 897003.
Sign up for my fortnightly newsletter Email Address *
First Name
Last Name
* indicates required
Please do not worry I will not send you spam!
Would you like advice about your situation? Appointments are available on the telephone or via Skype throughout the UK.
Alternatively we offer face to face appointments on the Isle of Wight, in Eastleigh, Southampton, Salisbury, Fareham, Portsmouth, Winchester and surrounding areas in Hampshire.
The information contained in this Podcast and post is provided for guidance and is a snapshot of the law at the time. It is provided for your information only and should not be used as a substitute for obtaining legal advice that it specific to your particular circumstances.
The guidance should not be relied upon in any decision making process. It is strongly recommended that you seek advice before taking action.
When is additional pay a reasonable adjustment for a disabled employee? In this weeks' episode I bring you the details of a case which has recently been decided by the Employment Appeal Tribunal regarding the requirement to make a reasonable adjustment for an employee who is disabled and who took a different job role, as a reasonable adjustment, which would normally have 10% less pay. Case name G4S Cash Solutions (UK) Limited v Powell
In this episode I will cover: * The facts of the case and why the employee was arguing for more pay; * The background to the requirement to make reasonable adjustments for a disabled employee; * Why it is important to consider what is 'reasonable' in the particular circumstances; * Why full sick pay is not a reasonable adjustment; * Why the Employment Appeal Tribunal decided it would be reasonable for the employer in this case to continue to pay at the employees previous rate of pay; * Why you should take care in deciding what reasonable adjustments should be made for a disabled employee.
Resources You can read the full judgement for the case here
You can find lots of examples of reasonable adjustments on the Equality & Human Rights Commission Website here
Action Points 1. If you have a disabled employee or someone you suspect could be disabled you need to consider if any adjustments are needed; 2. Seek advice if you are not sure about whether they would be a disabled person for the purposes of the Equality Act; 3. Seek advice about specific adjustments for the circumstances; 4. Give me a call if you want to talk through 023 8098 2006 or 01983 897003
Remember getting advice from a Solicitor need not be expensive or difficult!
Sign up for my fortnightly newsletter (next newsletter Monday 12th September 2016) Email Address *
First Name
Last Name
* indicates required
Please do not worry I will not send you spam!
Would you like advice about your situation? Appointments are available on the telephone or via Skype throughout the UK.
Alternatively I offer face to face appointments on the Isle of Wight, in Eastleigh, Southampton, Fareham, Portsmouth, Winchester and surrounding areas in Hampshire.
The information contained in this Podcast and post is provided for guidance and is a snapshot of the law at the time. It is provided for your information only and should not be used as a substitute for obtaining legal advice that it specific to your particular circumstances.
The guidance should not be relied upon in any decision making process. It is strongly recommended that you seek advice before taking action.