Useful Links
Employers FAQs
This section is an ‘at a glance’ digest of FAQs which incorporates the information for employers contained on this site.
Q. Employers for carers
A. Employers for carers is a service for employers to help you retain the 1 in 7 employees in your workforce caring for a family member. We promote the business benefits of supporting carers and provide advice and support on carer friendly policy and practice. Employers for Carers can help your business remain competitive, with a healthy and productive workforcehttp://www.employersforcarers.org/Home ... Read more »
Q. Is there an A to Z of useful information?
A. A to Z of all information resources that could be useful to you. AbilityNetA national charity helping disabled adults and children use computers and the internet by adapting and adjusting their technology. Our special expertise is ensuring that whatever your age, health condition, disability or situation you find exactly the right way to adapt or adjust your ICT to make it easier to use.ACAS (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service)ACAS can give you advice on other employment rights (for example, your holiday rights, sick pay and unfair dismissal).Access to WorkAccess to Work can help you if your health or disability affects the way ... Read more »
Q. How can health professionals advise me?
A. These are some of the things that health care professionals can do to help you with a disabled emoployee at work.‘I discuss any issues with employers and help clients support when having to disclose any medical information.’‘I provide work reports to give education/information This takes the form of:Email contact to employers with patients Cc'd inFace to face meetings to discuss issues like disclosure support, education/advice.Worksite assessments and managing returns to the workplace by giving advice on the clients ability post (TBI, Stroke, relapse) and the strategies in place to compensate. We also give advice regarding reasonable adjustments and meet regularly ... Read more »
Q. What is a fit note?
A. The Statement of Fitness for Work, or 'fit note', is a new Medical Statement that GPs will issue from 6 April 2010. It replaces the old 'sick note' and aims to focus on what an employee may be able to do at work rather than what they cannot do.In the past GPs have either said that 'you should refrain from work' or 'you need not refrain from work'. The fit note offers a new option - 'may be fit for work taking account of the following advice'. A GP will be able to suggest ways of helping an employee get back to work. ... Read more »
Q. What if my employee cares for someone with a chronic health condition?
A. One or many of your employees may be a carer for someone with a health condition. It is estimated that over three million people in the UK combine work and care. There is constant change as people move in and out of caring – so the proportion of your workforce likely to be affected at some time or another will be large. Also, the peak age for caring is 45-64 (one-fifth of adults in this age range provide care) – when many employees, after years of developing their skills and increasing their experience, will be reaching the peak of their ... Read more »
Q. Do we have to change or update our policies in order to support a disabled employee?
A. You may not have an equal opportunities policy. There may be a ban on flexible working. Are you going to have to change your policies before you can begin to make reasonable adjustments? This may be the first time that this has come up for you but it will not be the last. You may need to change or update your working practices in order to comply with the DDA. ... Read more »
Q. Do I need to have any special insurance?
A. Disability insurance is a form of insurance that insures the beneficiary's earned income against the risk that disability will make working (and therefore earning) impossible. It includes paid sick leave, short-term disability benefits, and long-term disability benefits. These policies offer payments to employees who are (usually temporarily, rarely permanently) unable to work because of any injury or illness, even if it is not job-related. Just as individuals need insurance to maintain some income if disability prevents them from working, small businesses should consider disability income insurance to protect against financial loss if an owner, partner or key employee should become ... Read more »
Q. What is Vocational rehabilitation?
A. This is a process that enables people with health conditions to overcome barriers to accessing, maintaining or returning to employment or other useful occupation. It is not widely available throughout the country at present, but where it is, research has shown that it has been effective in helping people to stay in work. ... Read more »
Q. What happens if I have to make someone redundant?
A. You cannot select someone for redundancy because they are disabled or for any reason relating to the disability. If you are consulting about any future redundancies, you should take reasonable steps to make sure that disabled employees are included in the consultations. ... Read more »
Q. How do I manage sick leave and absence sensitively but without affecting productivity?
A. Everyone at work will probably need to take sick leave at some point during their working lives and in most cases this lasts only a few days. But long-term sickness absence can have devastating effects on the performance of your business and the health and well-being of your employees. There are ways to manage this that can help in the short and long term. ... Read more »
Q. How do I talk to my employee now they have a health condition or disability?
A. People often worry about putting their foot in it when talking to disabled people or people who have been diagnosed with a long term health condition. It could be this worry, that can lead to not employing or retaining someone. However, it's important to remember that a patronising, thoughtless or rude manner is far more offensive than actual language used. If you are unsure about how to say something, ask the disabled person what they prefer. Remember, respectful language about disability and disabled people should always be used regardless of whether a disabled person is present. ... Read more »
Q. How will a person with a long term health condition be affected? Will it affect their work?
A. How long is a piece of string? Everyone is different and this impossible to answer in a general way. Go to our ‘Conditions’ section for a factsheet and more information on what are some of the likely scenarios. ... Read more »
Q. Do I have to do anything different with health and safety?
A. A risk assessment is an important step in protecting your workers and your business, as well as complying with the law. It helps you focus on the risks that really matter in your workplace – the ones with the potential to cause harm. In many instances, straightforward measures can readily control risks, for example, ensuring spillages are cleaned up promptly so people do not slip or cupboard drawers kept closed to ensure people do not trip. There may be specific hazards for wheelchair users or people with mobility or sight problems. Many of the risks can be sorted with simple, ... Read more »
Q. What are my responsibilities to a disabled employee?
A. Make sure you inform a disabled employee of facilities that might be useful. For example, someone who has diabetes may like to know there is a private place for injecting insulin if they need to, and that there is a place where they can store their insulin safely. Most importantly, you will need to ensure that managers, supervisors and work colleagues are properly briefed about the person’s needs, if any, and ensure that they do not discriminate against the new recruit. They need to understand the adjustments you have made but may not always need to know details of someone’s ... Read more »
Q. What is meant by a 'disabled' person?
A. Disabled, doesn’t just mean someone using a wheelchair or crutches. Fatigue, memory and thinking problems or pain - often 'invisible' symptoms - can be just as 'disabling' as more visible problems. For the purposes of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA), a disabled person is someone who has a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his or her ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. MS came under the DDA in 2005, along with cancer and HIV. ... Read more »
Q. Do I have to do anything different about recruitment?
A. Equality legislation doesn’t just protect people from discrimination when they’re in a job. It also applies to the recruitment and selection process, with the aim of making sure that no one is treated less favourably when applying for a job. It is unlawful for an employer to discriminate against a candidate for a job because of their age, disability, race, belief, sexual orientation or gender in any part of the recruitment process – in job descriptions, person specifications, application forms, during interviews, in tests, or in shortlisting. ... Read more »
Q. Where can I get practical information about which adjustments I have to make?
A. In many cases the need for adjustment and the types of adjustment that could be effective will be simple to identify - the disabled person themselves should always be involved in any such discussions. Occasionally, however, external assistance can be helpful in making suggestions, knowing what is practicable or even assisting with the costs of some adjustments. ... Read more »
Q. How much do reasonable adjustments cost?
A. Don’t assume that making reasonable adjustments will cost lots of money – most cost nothing and the average is £75. Many adjustments are about doing things a little differently. Remember that you may be able to use Access to Work to pay for many adjustments. ... Read more »
Q. All about reasonable adjustments
A. The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) requires employers to make changes to help disabled people work. These are known as ‘reasonable adjustments' and can be quite simple adjustments to working conditions or working environment, to overcome the practical effect of a disability. In effect, it is a way of levelling the playing field for people with disabilities. They can be free or cheap and there is financial help available. ... Read more »
Q. What is the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA)?
A. Disabled workers share the same general employment rights as other workers, but there are also some special provisions for them under the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA). To discriminate against someone because they have a long term health condition or are disabled is just as serious as discriminating against someone because of their race, gender, sexuality, or marital status. Under the DDA, it is unlawful for employers to discriminate against disabled people for a reason related to their disability, in all aspects of employment, unless this can be justified. One important aspect of this is the right to reasonable adjustments in ... Read more »
Q. Why should I employ or keep disabled people in my workforce?
A. You may ask, what’s in it for me? There are many reasons to employ or keep people with long term health conditions and disabilities aside from your basic legal obligations: to avoid undervaluing, under-using or losing able staff to make your workforce more representative of the community it serves to avoid the costs and uncertainties of recruiting and training someone new when you could have kept an employee – and kept valuable customer and business expertise within the organisation to improve staff morale and productivity to attract and keep able staff – the best person for the job may be ... Read more »
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