The PCS DWP North West Regional Committee have provided the following information:It appears that the DWP, the Department responsible for Disability and Carers is refusing to accept that any of its staff are covered by the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) until they are challenged at employment tribunal. In recent cases at this level, the department is arguing that staff do not have disabilities which are covered by the DDA, even where the disability is obvious to the individual and sometimes to others around them.
The DDA Definition
The DDA defines a disability as “a physical or mental impairment” which “has affected or will affect” your “day to day activities” for 12 months. “Day to day activities” are further defined in the Act, but the affects of the condition should not just be work related. Cancer, HIV infection and multiple sclerosis are covered automatically.
Reasonable Adjustments
If you are covered by the DDA, your employer has a legal responsibility not to discriminate against you and to make “reasonable adjustments” for you. These can be physical adjustments such as furniture or equipment, but can also be adjustments to the way management implement the attendance management procedures.
The Department argues that it makes reasonable adjustments even if you have an underlying health problem. While this is helpful for some members, it can encourage a culture in which members do not disclose their disability.
Underlying health conditions
If you have a condition which does not appear to be covered by the DDA, management still have a duty of care towards you and you can still argue that the condition should be taken in to account for attendance management purposes.
Disclosing Disability
PCS understands that there can be sensitivities around disclosing some disabilities to your employer, particularly where the disability is “hidden” and where it does not affect your work. However, in the present attendance management climate, our advice has to be that it is best to tell management about any disabilities you have and get a statement from management to say whether they accept you are covered by the DDA. For many members this is only a precautionary measure but can avoid arguments if you are unlucky enough to have to take sick leave related to your disability.
A number of factors can assist in arguing that you are covered by the DDA such as the position of a “green card” under the old disability registration scheme, the fact that you get DLA or IIDB or the fact that a previous employer has accepted you are covered by the DDA. However, none of these will be accepted on their own and you should always get advice from a PCS rep to help you argue your case with management if necessary.
