Disability Act

[LittleSue]

Some (slightly tongue in cheek) lunchtime wonderings.

At work today I came across some official guidance for employment issues regarding disability discrimination. Interestingly, it stated that if a medical condition is managed with medication, the person's need for work adaptation should be based on their fitness/capacity for work without treatment. Behaviour modification on medical advice counts as treatment.

"Diabetes" (no mention of type) was specifically mentioned as an example, i.e. a diabetic's work setup should be provided based on how they'd be without treatment.

Seeing as without treatment a T1 would quickly be in DKA, definitely unfit for work, and without medical intervention their life would be in danger, that kinda begs the question why doesn't diagnosis of T1 automatically trigger incapacity benefit? Is it just that if you were dead you wouldn't have a job?

 

[jopar]

Is this your employer’s interpretation of the disability act?

My understanding of the Disability Discrimination Act 2005 which extends and replaces the DDA 1995 Act

Is that the employer must make reasonable adjustments to an employee’s job role/ work load and environment to enable to carry out the work or attempted to offer the employee a alternative deployment within the company before they can terminate there employment contract…

This can be from adjusting meal breaks, working times/hours, to providing specialist equipment such as chair, access ramps etc… there is a get our clause for the employer the within reason, does give the employer a bit of a safe guard to expenditure of providing or altering, buildings and equipment to facilitate a individual employees disability… Must admit a small company isn’t really going to have funding to provide/install a lift to there top floor office for a individual employee very easily…

The fall DDA 2005 can be found here http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2005/uk ... 50013_en_1