Articles on Medical Diseases and Conditions

Tag: Employment

  • Employment: The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and employment

    The provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 are in principle very substantial, and apply to many aspects of employment. However, the exact implications of many of the provisions have not yet all been legally tested, so it will only become clear over the years how precisely the Act will apply. It is important to remember that the Act applies to organizations and companies with over 20 employees, although those with under this number are expected to abide by the spirit of the provisions.
    Broadly, the position under the Act is that unlawful discrimination in employment occurs in the following circumstances:

    • when a disabled person is treated less favourably than someone else;
    • this treatment is given for a reason relating to that person’s disability;
    • the reason does not apply to the other person, and
    • the treatment cannot be justified.

    Such discrimination must not occur in:

    • the recruitment and retention of employees;
    • promotion and transfers; training and development, and
    • the dismissal process.

    In addition employers must make reasonable changes to their premises or employment arrangements if these substantially disadvantage a disabled employee, or prospective employee, compared to a non-disabled person.
    These provisions sound formidable and very supportive of the situation of many people with MS, and in many respects they may be; however, the detailed interpretation of the provisions of the Act awaits clarification. Many of the provisions of the Act hinge on what a
    ‘substantial’ disadvantage to a disabled person is, and what is ‘a reasonable’ adjustment on the employer’s part is. Nevertheless, some examples may help to clarify certain provisions:

    • Employers probably cannot justify dismissing disabled employees if they were sometimes off work because of their disability, if the amount of time they take off is what the employers accept as sick leave for other employees.
    • Employers cannot justify refusing to promote a person who uses a wheelchair, solely because the person’s new workstation is not wheelchair accessible, if by reasonable rearrangement it could be made accessible.
    • If an employer requires someone with a particular typing speed, and someone with arthritis of the hands who applies for the job has too slow a speed, the employer has to consider whether any
    reasonable adjustment could be made. If it could not, the employer can refuse to employ the person.
    • Employers have to make any reasonable adjustment needed for disabled people to take part in an interview, to make sure that they would not be at a substantial disadvantage.
    • If an employer has not asked about – and the disabled person has not mentioned – any particular needs, then the employer may still have to make some kind of adjustment on finding that the person has a disability, and is at a substantial disadvantage.

    ‘Reasonable’ changes to be expected

    What ‘a reasonable change’ is for the benefit of a disabled person depends on:

    • how much an alteration will improve the situation for the person;
    • how easy it is to make the change;
    • the cost of the measure (in terms of finance and disruption);
    • the employer’s resources;
    • financial, or other help, that may be available.

    Examples of changes to physical features that may be required are:

    • widening doorways;
    • changing taps to make them easier to turn;
    • altering lighting for people with restricted vision, and
    • allocating a particular parking space for a disabled person’s car.

    Examples of changes to procedures or practices that may be required are:
    • altering working hours;
    • supplying additional training;
    • allocating some duties to another employee;
    • allowing absences during working hours for rehabilitation, assessment and treatment;
    • providing a reader or interpreter;
    • providing supervision;
    • acquiring or making changes to equipment;
    • modifying procedures for testing or assessment, or
    • transferring person to another place of work.

    Further information on the provisions of the Act can be obtained from the Disability Discrimination Act Information Line. There is also a booklet containing guidance and a code of practice on employment available from the Stationery Office.

    Exceptions to the Act

    Although all permanent, temporary and contract workers are covered, certain organizations or work settings are not covered. These include:

    • people in the armed services;
    • police officers;
    • fire brigade members if they are expected to take part in firefighting;
    • Ministry of Defence firefighters
    • prison officers and prison custody officers;
    • people working on board a ship, aircraft or a hovercraft;
    • people who work outside the UK;
    • individual franchise holders with less than 20 employees, even if the whole franchise network has more than 20.

    If employment levels fluctuate, the Act applies whenever there are 20 employees. As a different kind of exception, there are charities and organizations providing supported employment who can discriminate in favour of disabled people.
    Having said that, most employers are understanding and many will go out of their way to support people in similar circumstances, and informing them of your complete circumstances will be beneficial. However, only you can judge how your employer might react to the news of your diagnosis.

  • Employment: Telling your colleagues

    Given the way that news gets around, it is unlikely that you will be able to tell one colleague without others becoming aware of your situation quite quickly. Despite your wishes, sometimes it can even happen that information from outside your work situation alerts colleagues about your MS unintentionally, for example an inadvertent message from a family member to a colleague about an absence from work. So it is probably wise to work out ways in which to tell your colleagues in a planned process.
    Although most of your colleagues will have probably heard something about Multiple Sclerosis, their views will be based on a wide range of experiences and ideas, and thus may not be accurate. This will not help in the understanding of your condition. So you will need to do more than simply indicating your diagnosis. The best thing may be to give each of your colleagues some written information about Multiple Sclerosis – perhaps one or more of the pamphlets on MS available from the MS Society – at the time you are informing them about your situation. They can then have accurate information, and you can respond to any questions that they might want to ask you about your own MS. It may be worth reminding them, if they were not aware of your Multiple Sclerosis before you told them, that this shows how little your work, and your working relationships with them were affected – and indeed this may continue for a long time.

  • Employment: Promotion

    This is a more difficult issue. Whilst the battle to reduce prejudice against people with Multiple Sclerosis at work is gradually being won for people in their current jobs, many employers still have a concern about promoting people with the condition. In your current job you will have proved yourself, that is almost certainly why you are applying for promotion, and thus your employer – presumably – is likely to be satisfied with your work in that job. However, he or she may find the combination of your promotion to a new position where you will not yet, of course, have demonstrated your competence, and a condition with variable symptoms, difficult to be positive about. So, if you tell your employer about your MS, you should stress the qualities that you have (unaffected by the Multiple Sclerosis), and how important these would be for the job you are going after. It may well be that your previous skills and experience are such that a positive decision on promotion is relatively easy.

  • Employment: Telling your employer

    You need to think this situation through beforehand, and rehearse what you might say. It is very important that your employer knows something about MS before you speak to them if possible. Any negative, or less than positive, reaction to what you say may be due as much to ignorance of MS, as to any particular problem with you personally. The Multiple Sclerosis Society has produced a helpful leaflet called Employing People with Multiple Sclerosis – some questions answered, and this would be worth giving or sending to your employer.
    When you are talking to your employer, you must remember that, in terms of his or her response to you, they are thinking in business terms, however much they might like you personally. So it is important that you understand this and present in effect a ‘business case’ to them. A business case would emphasize your training, experience, commitment and your value to the organization, and would present a realistic – and thus modest – view of the likely problems that you might ‘cost’ the organization in terms of absence for sickness in the foreseeable future. It would also indicate that your abilities in many areas of your work were unlikely to be affected. If there are minor changes in working practices or additional equipment that you might need, not just to compensate for reduced mobility, for example, but also your productivity and hence your organization’s enhancement, then try arguing for them. For many employers, keeping skilled personnel who know the organization and its objectives and clients is more preferable to finding new employees, especially if they are convinced that you will continue to perform well in your job.

  • Employment

    At the time when men and women are diagnosed with MS, almost all are in employment of some kind. Considering how the diagnosis is going to affect your current job and future career is therefore a matter of considerable importance. Many issues arise in this context, including how or indeed whether to tell your employer; whether it might still be possible to continue work and, if so, on what basis, and what the implications might be financially.