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 Home Resources Library Equality
Supporting Disabled MembersDate: 22 August 2006
The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 gives thousands of Usdaw members important employment rights. Members and Reps should be aware of these rights and the situations where the Act can help. The right
What do we mean by disability?Forget old-fashioned notions that only wheelchair users or people with guide dogs are disabled. One in seven people has a disability and thousands of disabled people face discrimination every day at work.Just because when you look around your workplace you don't see anyone in a wheelchair or anyone communicating in sign language this doesn't mean that you don't have colleagues with a disability. Try to think about disability as broadly as possible. The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) gives disabled people a number of important rights and protection at work. To be entitled to this protection, you have to be classified as disabled under the Act. A really wide range of conditions fall within the scope of the DDA. Employment Tribunals have found that people with the following conditions have a disability and are therefore protected by the DDA: Some examples:
If you are diagnosed with MS, cancer or HIV you are automatically covered by the DDA and protected from discrimination from the point of diagnosis. When deciding if you or a member are covered by the DDA, ask five questions:
If the answers are yes, then you will be covered by the Act.
When might the DDA help?Reps can use the DDA to support disabled members in the following situations at work:
When work-related decisions are being made, reps should ask the following questions:
Adopt a problem solving approach. Help the employer to find solutions and encourage them to seek advice and guidance from Government Schemes and organisations that represent disabled people. A list of useful contacts can be found at the back of this leaflet.
Seeking supportIf you are disabled don't be afraid to approach your rep for help and support. You might need to ask for a reasonable adjustment to be made or at least explore some options. This will be particularly important if your condition has deteriorated or there are changes at work which you are finding difficult.
Reasonable adjustments - what can be doneEmployers have a duty to make reasonable adjustments to take account of the member's disability in a wide range of situations. The best person to ask about what adjustments will be most helpful is the disabled person. You might want to suggest that employers contact an outside agency for expert advice such as the RNID but always make sure the disabled person agrees to this and is involved in the process.Examples of reasonable adjustments include:
Meetings in generalYou may represent a member at a Disciplinary or Grievance Hearing about any issue - not just DDA complaints. Make sure that the member can fully participate in the meeting and there are no disability related issues which put them at a disadvantage. Ask for adjustments as required - hearing loops, large print documents, rest breaks or dictaphones. Similarly, your member may need this kind of support to attend management briefing meetings or training.
Sickness absenceAttendance management formulae should be adjusted to discount disability related absence.Disability related sickness absence should be discounted for the purpose of redundancy selection criteria, performance appraisal, disciplinary purposes and promotion criteria. There should be a planned return to work programme after a long period of ill health absence with reasonable adjustments. Things like returning initially on shorter hours (sometimes called a phased return) might be helpful.
Ill health dismissalsA dismissal on the grounds of ill health which relates to a disability will be discriminatory unless the company has properly explored and exhausted all possible reasonable adjustments - including alternative work.If dismissal on ill health grounds cannot be avoided, then ill health early retirement should be carefully explored.
Redundancy selectionRedundancy selection criteria which are based on sickness absence, flexibility and performance appraisals may put disabled members at a disadvantage. Criteria should be questioned and reasonable adjustments made if a member scores badly because of disability related factors.
Changes to the systems of workChanges to shift patterns, locations, working systems may impact adversely on members with disabilities and this should be taken into account and adjustments made.
Bullying and harassmentCompany policies on dignity at work, bullying and harassment should include disability.It is unlawful to bully, harass, pick on or intimidate someone because they are disabled. It is unlawful to name call, make offensive jokes or otherwise create a humiliating, hostile or degrading environment.
VictimisationThe Act also protects members from reprisal for having:
Health and safetyFor some people with certain disabilities there may be special health and safety issues to consider. For example, how will a worker who has severe mobility difficulties be protected if there is a fire alarm? There may also be some tasks that some workers can't do because of their disability, but this will depend on each individual's circumstances.A worker who has epilepsy that is well controlled may be able to work with dangerous machinery but someone who has a recent history of fits/blackouts may not. Health and safety is sometimes misused as an excuse to deny jobs to workers with disabilities. It is important that health and safety issues connected to a member's disability are properly risk assessed and that the risk assessment is discussed with the member and their safety rep. Remember, the duty to make reasonable adjustments extends to making changes in the workplace or the work that the member does, to protect their health and safety.
Making a complaint to TribunalIt is always our aim to resolve members' grievances under the company procedures. But if that is not successful a member may make a complaint to an Employment Tribunal if they have suffered discrimination or victimisation.A member who wishes to make a Tribunal complaint under the DDA must also lodge a grievance under the company procedures specifically about the discrimination. The Tribunal has strict time limits for making a claim - three months less one day from the date of the incident. It is the responsibility of the member to ensure that their claim form is lodged in time, but where a Tribunal claim is being considered, it is advisable to contact your Area Organiser for advice.
Representing disabled membersBelow are some tips on how best to represent disabled members.
LanguageAvoid offensive terms and phrases.Language is important. It can reinforce stereotypes and negative assumptions such as disabled people are less able people. Language is crucial in communicating effectively with disabled people.
Continuing in workTwo important things to remember when representing members that have become disabled.
Case studyMartin works in a large distribution centre. His colleagues elected him to the position of union rep. Martin has a learning disability. Managers at the distribution centre attempted to persuade the union and his colleagues that Martin was not capable of performing the role of union rep. At no point did management speak to Martin but instead they made assumptions about his capacity.Martin's union official, with assistance from a Disability Employment Adviser, discussed his duties, attended his induction and worked through the induction pack with him and visited Martin's workplace. With this initial level of appropriate support, agreed by Martin, he is now doing a great job as union rep in the workplace.
Access to workThere are one million disabled people wanting to work and over 700,000 unfilled jobs in the UK. Disabled people are five times more likely to be unemployed than non-disabled people, whatever their qualifications and abilities.In an attempt to address this, the Government has introduced a voluntary scheme called 'New Deal for disabled people'. It is a programme designed to support and prepare disabled people for paid work. There are also in-work benefits for disabled people in work.
Useful contactsDisability Rights CommissionHelpline tel: 08457 622 633 textphone: 08457 622 644 www.drc-gb.org
Mind (Mental health advocacy group)
New Deal for Disabled People
Royal National Institute of the Blind (RNIB)
Royal National Institute of the Deaf (RNID)
Tax Credits helpline
TUC
TUDA
The Access Association
Access to Work Visit the web site for contact details depending upon geographical location. Supporting Disabled Members was correct at date of publication June 2006. Download File: If you do not have the software to download this attachment you can download it here. Resources Library Equality
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