Dear colleagues
My understanding is that if an employee tells an employer that they think they may have a disability which is affecting their performance at work and for which they believe they may require reasonable adjustments, then the employer is required under DDA Part 2 to work with the employee to assess the most appropriate adjustments for them. Depending on the individual circumstances, this may mean writing to a GP or specialist for advice, or referring an employee to the internal Occupational Health Advisor or referring an employee to the Disability Employment Adviser at the local JobCentre Plus . In the latter case, the DEA may then refer the employee on to the Employment Service Occupational Psychologist for a full dyslexia assessment under the Access to Work scheme.
I think Im right in saying that in some HEIs with their own ACCESS Centres, Access to Work assessments have been carried out for staff of the institution by the institution's own ACCESS Centre staff but other colleagues out there may be better able to confirm that?
The ECU publication Employing Disabled People in Higher Education ( see www.ecu.ac.uk for more details of our publications) whilst not being specific on this issue may nonetheless be helpful background to refer to.
Hope this helps.
Best wishes
Liz
-----Original Message-----
From: Discussion list for disabled students and their support staff.
[mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Michael Trott
Sent: 08 December 2004 17:34
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Staff Query
In a message dated 08/12/04 10:13:34 GMT Standard Time, [log in to unmask]
writes:
<< Hi,
I have had a query about a member of staff who thinks they might be
dyslexic. Does anyone know if the university [employer] has a
responsibility to pay for a diagnostic assessment or if it is up to the
member of staff concerned to pay for this? Thank you.
With best wishes
Claire >>
I think it would normally be up to any employee to prove the their employer
that they had a disability. I don't see rthat the employer being a university
affects that. Although one would hope that the quality of support would be
better.
I would suggest that paying for the assessment oneself is possibly a better
option in case one wants to challenge the diagnosis.
Mick Trott
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