Disability Legislation Has No Teeth In The Public Sector

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Disability Legislation Has No Teeth In The Public Sector

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=65464

Research published in The British Sociological Association journal

Work, Employment and Society this month proves that laws which aim

to keep people with disabilities in the workplace, can often have

the opposite effect and lead to ill-health, absence and in some

cases bullying.

At a time when the Government is trying to encourage more people to

get off Incapacity Benefit and return to work, this study makes a

timely contribution to current debate, by highlighting the issue

of 'reasonable adjustments' and the experiences of disabled

employees.

Dr Deborah from Cardiff Business School, Cardiff University

explains: " We explored the experiences of disabled people in the

workplace and looked at the legal obligation on employers to

make 'reasonable adjustments' under the terms of the Disability

Discrimination Act 1995. The Act was of course updated in 2005 in

line with European Union legislation. More worryingly in terms of

our research, this updated legislation also introduced disability

harassment as a concept and a Disability Equality Duty into the

public sector in December 2006. "

" Based on research funded by the Economic and Social Research

Council, we found that many disabled employees experienced the

process of trying to secure adjustments both difficult and

stressful. "

The study also identified an absence of effective procedures in the

public sector to deal with requests for adjustments from employees

with disabilities, alongside inadequate training in this area among

line managers. The study is particularly striking as it focuses on

the under-researched employee perspective which tries to give a

personal voice to the participants.

A nurse with 24 years service in the NHS became a wheelchair user

following post-operative complications. Although she applied for a

position that would use some of her nursing skills in the nurse bank

office, she was re-deployed to the hospital's booking office where

her nursing skills were not used, and where she earned considerably

less than her previous salary.

A period followed where her line manager refused to discuss

adjustments to her working hours and conditions, and then began to

routinely humiliate her in front of her colleagues by discussing her

medical problems loudly in an open plan office. The incident

continued with the involvement of human resources and finally the

nurse's union, UNISON who made great efforts to support her. The

nurse spent a good deal of time on sick leave with stress as a

consequence of her experiences. She said:

" I can't work in that place again. I want apologies and I want them

to understand that they need further training in how to deal with

people with disabilities. The law is in now and they weren't

prepared for it. I don't think they've even read [the Act]. "

Dr says: " Education and training was the single most

important finding of this research as it's one of the most potent

means of combating institutional discrimination. As the story of the

nurse shows, we know that disability is commonly negatively equated

with inability. Despite 24 years nursing experience, in a profession

that is crying out for such commitment, she was re-deployed to a

clerical position. "

The British Sociological Association

http://www.britsoc.co.uk/