At what point can you be fired for a disability?

[throwawayusername]

Just that really (Aspergers-related, trying not to go into detail as under review at work).

When you say "fired for a disability" do you mean you're going through a capability process where your employer is suggesting you're unable to do your job due to your disability?

Yes, that's right.

It's about whether you can do the job if the employer makes 'reasonable adjustments' from what I have seen/understand. Unfortunately what constitutes 'reasonable' is hard to define or prove and I suspect prejudice amongst managers may frequently interfere.

Ok, so do you feel your disability prevents you from doing your job? Are you under-performing, and if so is it related to your aspergers? Or do you feel they're just looking for a convenient way to get rid of you? Do you have reasonable adjustments in place? If not, are there reasonable adjustments that would change things?

Sorry for all the questions, appreciate you don't want to go into detail but it's hard to answer otherwise.

I suppose the short answer is it is possible to dismiss someone if a disability prevents them from being able to do their role, but reasonable adjustments would have to be put in place first, and there's a fairly involved process to be followed.

Were they aware of your Asperger's when you took the role, or have you been diagnosed since?

It hugely depends if the person disclosed this before accepting the position

It's a really fine line. Disability is a protected characteristic and needs to be handled sensitively to avoid a tribunal which could be brought by the employee even without 2 years' service.

Essentially, they need to be able to prove that your disability means you are unable to do your job to the standard expected even with any reasonable adjustments made (e.g change of hours, environment etc). They also need to be able to justify that they cannot reasonably move you to another department or that you cannot fulfil another role within the company. I would expect that the capability process would be extensive to ensure that they had explored all possible options (to avoid costly tribunal).

How long have you been there and do you have access to an employee handbook? When did they become aware of your Disability?

Have reasonable adjustments been put in place? Have you been through performance management process? Are there other roles within the organisation you could do?

At what point can you be fired? At the point it has been established that your disability means you are unable to perform your role, reasonable adjustments have been explored and redeployment isn't possible.

How long it takes to get to that point varies from not long at all to months.

I've lost my job 3 times due to disability, I was forced out unfairly each time and then I accepted a payout rather than tribunal. A 4th job I walked away from to spare my sanity as it was happening again.

It's actually difficult and time consuming to do this the right way. So either you agree to go through an arbitrary process that leaves you with a chance of keeping your job; or you go on the offensive. Get the union involved, join a union if you dont have one.

Given that Aspergers impacts on communication at times, especially stressful situations, ask if you can have an advocate in meetings with you. This is different to your rights to be accompanied in a disciplinary hearing. Contact local disability charities to find out if they will advocate for you on this. Good luck 🤞