Two-year delay costs £45,000
Case facts. When Michelle Proctor (P) began working for her employer in 1994 she disclosed that she had undergone carpal tunnel decompression surgery, had arthritis in both hands and tendonitis of the wrists and arms. In 2015, following a merger with another business, P’s workload increased and in the March she was absent due to pain in both hands. An occupational health advisor recommended that voice recognition software - which cost only a couple of hundred pounds - should be installed on P’s computer to help manage her condition.
Reasonable adjustments. The HR manager for the Haxby Group Practice (H) was asked to investigate purchasing and installing the recommended software. However, this took over two years in which time P had taken more sickness absence due to her medical condition, raised a grievance about the delay and made her own enquiries regarding the software. On 28 September 2017 P resigned saying that she had lost trust and confidence in H. She claimed constructive dismissal, disability discrimination and failure to make reasonable adjustments.
Important point. P won all of her claims and the tribunal awarded her nearly £45,000. The reason for this was quite simple: where an employer has a duty to make reasonable adjustments, which H did in this case, they must be implemented as soon as reasonably practicable. Any unreasonable delay, especially two years, will usually be considered a failure to make reasonable adjustments.
Tip. Where adjustments are needed for an employee’s job role, you must be fully involved in that process - never ask the employee to make their own arrangements. If you leave it all to the employee, you won’t be able to show that you’ve discharged your legal duty fully.
For the tribunal’s ruling in this case, visit http://tipsandadvice-personnel.co.uk/download (PS 21.04.01).
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