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.

@Fritilleries

As someone with a disability, a big well done to you! Thanks for having her back.

Same and I couldn't agree more. More managers should be like you.

@PlntLady

Its 100% discrimination. If her contract doesnt state a place of work your company are on very shaky ground. The will be looking to out her before she has been there 2 years as once she passes this threshold its actually harder to get rid of her.

Do you have any emails from when you hired her r.e. confirming the work from office / wfh situation? This could add weight to her case.

Your need to comment was more important than

1. Reading the thread
2. Accuracy

Well done OP 👏

Joining the thread, which I’d read yesterday, to say well done @Whatnextteletext for handling this so well, with calm and loyalty. You sound like a super manager, and the company is lucky to have you. I shouldn’t have to say the employee is lucky, because she has her rights and entitlements, but please be proud of the allyship you have shown 🙌🏻

Fair play to you , OP ; a perfect outcome .

@DGRossetti

I don't understand why people worry about this. I always assumed most people "fudged" non relevant details on their posts (e.g dc age and sex) to try and minimize risk of identification.

OP works for a company prepared to shit on disabled workers.

That narrows it down to about 80% of the market then.

Also worth reminding people that only recently P&O admitted to the government they deliberately tore up the rules on employment with no punishment. So I wouldn't be too hopeful about anyone elses rights.

Sadly this is only too accurate! Disability discrimination is so common in employment that it is strange to think a thread like this would make someone identifiable.

Whatnextteletext It's fantastic that you are standing up for someone who can clearly do a great job, just not in an inaccessible environment.

I saw the posts about asking for advice from ACAS or a trade union. Do you know about AbilityNet too? They might have some useful resources too, hopefully not for now if everything is sorted but for the future:

abilitynet.org.uk/about

This is the best thing I have read for weeks!!! I am actively avoiding the news due to cost of living increases, wars and sense of impending doom that is falling down heavily like acid rain atm. This has cheered me up no end!!! What a wonderful human you are @Whatnextteletext!!! You sound like the ideal manager and mentor. Your descriptions of your employee have been nothing other than respectful and egalitarian and you can hold your head high!

So to put another positive message on just joining in saying BRILLIANT op & thank you for all those who gave relevant details of how to find the Twitter thread by @ flower girl ldn before I could. I have hospital / cancer brain in my defence & was wracking my brain as writing it but I reckon “posh London hotel “ & “disability rights” would have done it

@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.

She sounds like a gold star and an excellent addition to the team, why do some management focus more on being in "office" rather than actually being good at the role ?

Late to the thread, but this definitely sounds like discrimination to me and something she could take to tribunal.

You're so late it's all solved, NotTerf.

Well done op. Thanks for fighting her corner.

@NotTerfNorCis

Late to the thread, but this definitely sounds like discrimination to me and something she could take to tribunal.

And you thought no one else would have thought to say that.

@Whatnextteletext

I've had an email from HR who have taken my feedback back to the leadership team:

Squashed.

I have also spoken to my colleague. I gave her a call and just said that after the email went out (which was a standard email btw, that's not a lie) I'd challenged it immediately on her behalf because I didn't know an email would also be going to employees as well as line managers. I said I'd had a talk with HR and after a bit of back and forth between myself, HR and the senior leadership team it's now resolved and she can continue to work from home as normal. This is exactly what happened. I told her that shortly the business will be asking everyone to work from the office full time and although this wont apply to her, that she and I should have a chat down the line about how we can make sure she's still feeling like part of the team and well integrated once everyone else is back in the office.

She doesn't need to know i did any fighting or had any difficult chats on her behalf. On reflection, I wouldnt tell any of my team about a senior level conversation like that, so she shouldn't be any different. If it had gone any further than this point then I'd have absolutely told her but on balance, all it would do is damage her confidence in her own abilities as she'd internalise the senior teams idiocy as them wanting to get rid of her because she's not good enough/ not suitable. Even though she's in her 30's, she carries a lot of the self doubt we all did when we were new in a career so it's easy to forget she's still in that place and she hasn't found he badassery yet.

She's fine, glad it's resolved and agrees with me that the senior team are monumentally tone deaf and can go to hell

Thanks again everyone, you've been so helpful.

You are amazing!! Well done 👏👏👏

Well done . Everyone deserves a fabulous manager like you.

Well done @Whatnextteletext you absolute champion. Hopefully the SLT learn from their near miss.

@SpringsSprung I hope you got a massive payout for how you were treated by PC World. It's always good to hear of wins. Glad ACAS was helpful in your case. They do not represent workers though.

EHRC website might have some useful info: www.equalityhumanrights.com/en

I'm crying reading this - you are amazing!

Brilliant manager !

My sibling is physically disabled and suffers constant overlooking and prejudice. Threads like this give me hope.

'That's fine, no issues with long term WFH. Proceed'

I would have clarified, PERMANENTLY? There is a difference on the emphasis of 'long term', which basically means for an indeterminate, temporary length of time, to permanent.

I think this should have been clarified when she was hired, that she would never be able to attend in person, and her wfh was permanent. The way they worded it, it seems they really didn't understand you meant that she would never, ever be able to go to the office. There should have been absolutely no ambiguity whatsoever. Communication was bad on both sides (yours and HRs) when you hired her in the first instance. "Long term" should never have ever been used, since her wfh was permanent, not just 'long term'.

Regardless, excellent outcome for her and congrats for making this win happen.

What an exceptional manager you are OP well done for supporting your staff member 🥰

What threads like this do is genuinely show there’s a better way to do things and helps us to put our heads above the parapet.

I like to think I’m a good manager but I’m definitely lacking in some areas and this thread shows me how to be better for sure.