Hi all

 

I sent something directly to Fehmeeda earlier but as there’s obvious interest it will be interesting to discuss it on here.

 

It is best to record disability related sickness separately as the absence may be part of a reasonable adjustment (ongoing treatment which is necessary to keep the employee in work) or it may be sickness or absence related to a disability because a reasonable adjustment is being made or has not been made.  If it is absence related to the disability it is not  appropriate to add it to general sick leave recording as the disabled person may then face discrimination related to their disability.  In if it not recorded separately then HR absence management triggers may come into play which can cause stress to the disabled employee and could be deemed as treating them ‘less favourably’. This is one of those occasions where ‘even if where that involves treating disabled persons more favourably than other persons’ kicks in.  Bearing in mind that this is about keeping people actively in work as I feel there can be an HR mindset that doesn’t appreciate that this is what this legislation is trying to do.

 

I think the better solution is to have a separate disability leave policy which would encompass leave required as part of reasonable adjustments. If not then at the very least we should be noting these absences separately to avoid inappropriate triggers and not recording them separately could be deemed unlawful.

 

Kind regards

Tammy

 

 

 

 

We would also be interested to hear the replies to this.

 

Sara

Sara P Hunter
Head of Equality and Diversity Services
Corporate Planning and Governance
University of Ulster
Shore Road
Newtownabbey
BT37 0LR

+44 2890 368137
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From: HE Administrators equal opportunities list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of David Morgan
Sent: 27 March 2009 12:15
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Disability related sick leave

I’d also be interested to hear – we don’t formally do this but may consider it as part of a reasonable adjustment…

 

Dave

 

 

Dear All,

I hope you are all well.  I was wondering if any colleagues had policies on recording leave related to disability separately from normal sick leave.  Our Occupational Health Doctor is of the view that the DDA requires us to record disability leave separately from normal sick leave.  We do not currently do this but are looking to explore the  development of a policy on disability leave.

Any thoughts would be most welcome.

All best wishes

Fehmeeda

Fehmeeda Riaz
University of Westminster
HR Manager - Equality & Diversity
HR Department, 5th Floor, Copland Building
115 New Cavendish Street
London, W1W 6UW
Tel: 020-7911-5776

 

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