What are my Obligations as an Employer?
- The Flexible Working (Amendment) Regulations came into force on 6th April 2024 and these require employers to consider flexible working requests from day one of employment, so it makes sense to incorporate these into your recruitment strategies from the outset.
- Ensure your employees know their medical conditions are private and confidential and that you will not share your details with anyone who does not need to know.
- Employees should be made aware they have a right to request reasonable adjustments to allow them to continue in a role.
What else can I do to support Employees?
- Creating a more supportive workplace can result in greater productivity, morale, retention, as well as reduced sickness absence and ‘presenteeism’.
- Remember that employees have the right to confidentiality and may want the adjustments to be made discreetly.
- It is essential that employers and managers learn more about life with musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions and foster a workplace where employees feel they can discuss their health openly with their employer.
- Small changes can have a big difference. This can include employers offering more flexible working hours, longer or more frequent breaks throughout the day, and increased availability of specialised equipment such as standing desks and ergonomic chairs.
- The Government’s Access to Work Scheme can provide help where expensive adjustments are necessary to allow employees to remain at work and you may be eligible for a grant to cover these. The scheme can also help with mental health support.
- Often, employees just need understanding and reassurance that they are not alone and that their symptoms will get better with support. It can be helpful to signpost employees to charities like ours, EDS UK, or local services, where available. We can then help them improve their mental health or feelings of isolation, and signpost them to local resources and support.
What are reasonable adjustments?
The employee is the expert in how your condition affects them and will know their job well enough to judge what reasonable adjustments could make a difference to how they manage work.
Reasonable adjustments might include specialist equipment, adjustments to the role, or a change to work patterns that will remove some of the problems they face at work. However, we understand that it can also be hard to know exactly what is available or what could make a difference to them.
Some examples of reasonable adjustments in the workplace are shared within the Equality and Human Rights EHRC website, with videos of those who have applied for adjustments. These may help you consider their situation and how they could apply. Working together with your employee or workplace support can help you to help them to identify what would work and how it could be implemented.
Listed below are some questions to consider if someone’s condition is impacting on their capacity to work:
- What work tasks do you feel need to be reviewed, adapted, or removed to make their role manageable?
- Can you swap some tasks and find alternative tasks they can do instead?
- Is there specialist equipment, computer software or training that may help make their job easier?
- Consider hours and location; would they benefit from working from home, flexible or reduced hours, shorter working week, or longer breaks between work days?
- Remember to consider those periods when conditions fluctuate or flare, they start new treatment, or experience a setback. They may need additional support to help continue to work, over and above what you have already agreed during the times when their condition is stable.
- Do you know if you need a health and safety review to ensure they are working safely?
- Is travel to and from work part of the problem, are there times when they struggle to drive safely, or travel on public transport?
- Consider who can help you work through this – manager, HR staff, job centre staff, union rep, occupational therapist, employment adviser, local advice service?
- Would they benefit from an Occupational Health, Ergonomic or Access to Work assessment to help identify what they need?
Case studies, workplace adjustment plans are here
