Hired a disabled woman in lockdown who I now have to fire

[Whatnextteletext]

During the first lockdown I hired a physically disabled woman into an entry level role on my team. She’s in her mid 30’s but it’s her first job because pre-pandemic, she couldn’t work out of the home due to her disability and work from home opportunities were few and far between. She is a wheelchair user who lives with a full time carer who takes care of he personal needs (this is relevant to why she couldn’t work out of home) and prior to lockdown, she lived on her disability payments alone which from the sound of it was very hard going.

I hired her into an entry level web development role with on the job training and it turns out she’s wicked smart and a phenomenally fast learner. I’ve put her through some web development training and within 18 months she’s now a pretty decent developer and by far the most competent of the cohort I hired along side her. She’s also lovely and we get on really well.

Anyway, when I hired her, my company were committed to WFH and hybrid working long term. Now however, they’ve backtracked and everyone is back in the office 3 days a week mandated.

Today I had an email from the senior team asking why this employee hadn’t been back to the office so I explained that she’ll be working from home forever given the circumstances (that they’re very aware of!) and the reply I got was that she’s no longer suitable for the role now that the expectation is work from the office and I needed to let her go.

I hit the roof and went straight to HR who are looking into this now, but I’d like to know from here what is likely to happen??

If they come back and say she’s got to go and I have to fire her I’m handing my notice in on the spot, that’s a given. How likely is that though? Surely it’s discrimination?

It’s also really stupid. It costs a fortune to train new developers properly and I’ve invested a huge amount of my time into her. It’s a complete candidates market at the moment too - developer roles are everywhere, it’s really hard to find ones with the right training and she’s good enough that with a bit of off the record support she could freelance fairly easily.

Her contract doesn’t specify a place of work or working model and there is no reason on earth she couldn’t perform the role perfectly adequately from home. We all did for 2 years.

Does anyone know where we stand legally on this one? She’ll have 2 years service in June.

Feel for you OP, you sound like a great line mgr.

I'm astounded you don't think this is likely to be identifiable. There probably aren't tonnes of people who started an entry level job June 2020, requires personal care so absolutely cannot go back to the office and works for for the type of business you have mentioned

@Livelovebehappy

Was there always going to be a chance that people were going to be pulled back into the office though? Most people in lockdown were aware that wfh was temporary. And in that case I think it was a disservice employing her at all, as it sounds like you were well aware that working out of the home was was a no go for her, yet still employed her anyway, knowing there was every chance wfh was not permanent.

Leaving aside your questionable notion that if someone discloses a disability, you should just drop them immediately... The OP says very clearly (my bold) 'when I hired her, my company were committed to WFH and hybrid working long term. Now however, they’ve backtracked and everyone is back in the office 3 days a week mandated.'

You sound lovely OP, hopefully HR are on the ball.

They have a duty to consider reasonable adjustments. So they need to consider allowing her to WFH permanently as a reasonable adjustment and also consider any reasonable adjustments which might enable her to attend the office.

Lots of managers don't understand the duty to consider adjustments IME. I have encountered issues in several workplaces.

In one the issues were substantial enough that a solicitor advised I had a strong case but couldn't afford to persue it as I was only 22 and lived with my boyfriend so couldn't get legal aid.

This seems so unfair. She's able to do a brilliant job from home. Why be awkward? It will cost the company money to advertise, interview and train. If an agency helped us source staff, we had to pay them commission. It used to cost our company around £3,000 each time. So why do that, when you have a brilliant member of staff doing it from home?! She may sue for unfair dismissal, using the disability discrimination act. I hope hr can help save the day.

[quote Sbbhnfc]@bevelino what's that expression from Game of Thrones, oh my sweet summer child?!

In the last 30 plus years I've been in the workplace it has never ceased to astonish me how little knowledge there is of legislation amongst directors and other senior staff, and even HR so-called "professionals", (in some cases, especially so-called HR professionals). This has been particularly apparent in the smaller organisations I've worked at (though larger places are by no means exempt)...[/quote]
I know, I thought that. Oh that all senior staff and HR were so clued up/cared so much.

At an old workplace of mine, in a training session on inclusivity/discrimination, the HR manager (one step down from HR director) said to the room, 'There are seven characteristics in the Equality Act – we can't champion them all.'
Yes, the HR manager.

I hope the meeting goes well today and you get the outcome you want.

Good luck this morning @Whatnextteletext
She is lucky to have someone like you in her corner

It sounds really discriminatory to not make a reasonable accommodation for this woman. Hopefully HR will help the higher ups see sense!

Just want to say how lovely it is to see a line manager willing to quit over something like this. I hope both of your careers thrive!

As a disabled person who was screwed over big time in a similar way, I just want to say thank you for having her back

@DoubleChinWoes2

HR director here; companies of any size need to make reasonable adjustments. They'd need to articulate clearly in what way working from home for this lady is unreasonable. Discrimination cases are uncapped in terms of tribunal pay outs so could be very costly, even if they manage to settle.

Your HR team should be asking the decision maker to justify what the business reasons are that means WFH is no longer reasonable, when it has been for three years.

Can this lady leave her home at all? Perhaps she could get an adapted taxi to a monthly team meeting, or in the office once a week if face to face presence is genuinely needed in order business objectives can be met. It may be a negotiation about what she can and can't do with both sides meeting in the middle.

You can fire disabled people where adjustments aren't reasonable and they can no longer carry out their work/business won't function without them there, but for it to be considered a safe dismissal, your work will need to have shared with her and you what is/what isn't reasonable and ficne alternatives.

It will NOT look good her direct manager is saying "it's fine, she can obviously WFH as she has been doing the last 2 years and hey, she's also great".

Thank you. Yes she can leave the home for short periods and requires access to a large disabled toilet facility which we don’t have, plus her carer/ a trained carer to be with her to assist. She is completely unable to weight bare or stand in any way and we work on the 2nd floor with no lift access in the building. There is no meeting spaces on the ground floor, just the reception desk and the disabled toilet which is a small space and fairly useless given all the actual desks and meeting spaces are inaccessible to a wheelchair user anyway.

She called me at 7:30. She’s had an email from the senior team late last night (from one of them, cc’ing 2 others) to say it’s been noticed she’s not been back to the office since the return to office meeting, and that’s she is required to attend 3 days per week.

She’s understandably panicked. I’ve reassured her that it’s a standard message they’ve sent to anyone that not been in the office (this is true) and I’ve told her I’m chatting to HR this morning to get to the bottom of it and confirm it won’t apply to her.

What I THINK has happened is the email I originally got from the senior team was a standard email that went to line managers of people who’ve not been back to the office ahead of them emailing our team members. I’ve then replied and said she won’t be returning at all given the circs, then this guy has jumped the gun and taken the ‘everyone must come back to the office’ mandate a bit too literally and applied the policy without thinking in his response to me. In the meantime, the email has gone to the team members including mine. He’s a proper jobsworth (the guy who responded to me) so I doubt anyone else on the senior team is actually involved given how late last night it all kicked off.

We shall see. HR in 10 minutes.

I’d explain everything you’ve written here and tell them that they can fire her themselves and you’ll support her in her claim for compensation

Good luck OP, you sound like a great boss.
Your last post sounds like your building doesn't even begin to have proper access, is that even legal?

Side note - please tell us exactly what skills this person has (and you) to be so in demand, I think lots of people are looking for retraining right now and you sound very well informed. Sorry for that cheeky request while you're in the midst of something serious. But maybe one of us will end up working for you and be brilliant :)

Your company sound awful! Not just this, but the overwhelming majority don’t want to come back to the office and the company are making them!! Talk about not valuing their staff, this is a role that is perfect for working from home. They will just lose out on great staff if they continue to be this backward. It’s so depressing, working from home on a grand scale has given a great lifeline for disabled workers, those with mental health issues that prevent them from going to an office, those with caring responsibilities, etc. I’ve found in my company similar, the workers want more wfh and flexibility, the directors (all male, 60+) have a ‘bums on seats’ attitude where presenteeism is rife. It’s like we’ve all taken 10 steps backwards. It’s laughable as these last two years have been our most productive, share prices are the highest they’ve been, we exceeded our targets of projects won, and staff feedback surveys were positive (for a change!).

Jobsworth guy will cost your company a lot of ££ if he carries on... So glad this lady has you on her side.

Hiya

You are not being unreasonable and your management people are! Under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, which was encorporated in the Equality Act 2010, employers are required to make "reasonable adjustments" to employ disabled people. WFH is such an adjustment; she could in theory take a case of discrimination against them if they insist she doesnt.

Hope it goes well today

I hope you get a good outcome today. Bosses like this are awful.

@Merryoldgoat

I hope you get a good outcome today. Bosses like this are awful.

you also wonder how they get to, and stay, where they are. How can it be sensible to get rid of a load of good people (or encourage them to leave) and then recruit new people on a higher salary some of whom may leave as soon as they find a WFH role themselves anyway? It makes no sense financially at all.

Good luck with HR today. I'm glad you are on her side.

Yes surely they will see sense at your meeting. Otherwise they are too stupid for words.

Whatnextteletext
I hope the meeting went well, and the ridiculousness of last night is now completely over with.

However, you might like a "word of the day" (relating to the "proper jobsworth"
It's German, backpfeifengesicht and apparently means, "the need to slap someone in the face who definitely has it coming."
Please resist the temptation, but if thinking of that word puts a smile on your face every time you see him for the next few days, it should unsettle him!

This sounds like indirect discrimination, and if your HR department is worth its salt it will shut this down immediately.