Recommended policies

 

Flexible working policy

Every employee has the legal right to ask for flexible working. This is not just for parents and carers. Most organisations have a flexible working policy.

By law, an employee can apply for flexible working if they have worked consistently for you for 26 weeks.

Scope recommends offering flexible working from day 1 as a reasonable adjustment. This may seem like treating disabled employees more favourably. But it actually helps removes some of barriers they may experience.  For example, being able to travel outside of rush hour or to manage a fluctuating condition.

Performance management policy

A performance management policy is vital for business success. But an inclusive policy should:

• identify if an employee’s impairment or condition is affecting their performance
• discuss with the employee if they need any reasonable adjustments to improve

This discussion can be part of an Access to Work application or occupational health referral.

Once adjustments are in place, you can agree a timescale for the employee to meet your business requirements.

During this time, you must explore and meet all:

• training
• resources
• adjustment needs

If performance does not then improve, you can follow usual performance management routes.

Reasonable adjustments policy

Most organisations have a reasonable adjustments policy.

Read our reasonable adjustments toolkit for more details.

Sickness and absence policy

Sickness and absence management is a complex area. The law is not clear. There have been various cases that have tested it, but there are no clear precedents.

Employers often believe that they must:

• treat everyone the same with sickness and absence
• enforce the same procedures and disciplinary triggers across the workforce

Treating everyone the same can seem to be a way to avoid employment tribunals. But actually, these processes can result in disability discrimination.

Let’s look at the case of Cox v Post Office (IT/1301162/97). The employer dismissed Mr Cox for exceeding the sickness and absence limits.

The employer had included Mr Cox’s absence due to asthma. But his health condition was covered under equality law and should not have counted.

This tribunal concluded it was unfair dismissal. It said that the Post Office had enough resources to absorb Mr Cox’s absence without it negatively affecting business operations.

So, does an organisation treat all absence the same or not?

Disability leave

Disability leave is a more inclusive policy. It treats any condition-related absence under a separate policy.

You will still need to understand when:

• disability absence affects business operations
• reasonable adjustments are failing

There is no legal obligation for organisations to follow such a policy. But it’s fairer way of managing a diverse workforce in an inclusive organisation.

Bullying and harassment policy

Most policies cover the more common forms of bullying and harassment, for example:

• threatening or abusive behaviour
• humiliation
• verbal abuse such as taunting
• violent gestures

But there are more subtle forms of bullying in the workplace, for example:

• unachievable deadlines
• removing or withholding responsibilities
• only allocating menial tasks
• excluding people from meetings relevant to their role

Disabled employees often report these types of incidents.

Harassment

Harassment is unwanted conduct related to protected characteristics. This conduct has the purpose or effect of:

• violating the dignity of an individual, or
• creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for an individual

An employee may have a legal case even if the harassment is not directed at them. They may also complain if they have witnessed harassment that makes them feel they are in a:

• hostile
• degrading
• intimidating
• humiliating
• offensive environment