Reasonable adjustments

[K8Davidson]

I asked my employer for reasonable adjustments on two separate occasions. My request was denied on both occasions.

However, I was not offered the right to appeal in both of those instances.

Should I have been offered the right to appeal?

You think they'd be reasonable, they don't. What would change putting it forward again?

My question was whether I should have been offered the right to appeal? That’s all I’m asking.

What were the reasonable adjustments you asked for, and how big is the organisation you work for? As I understand it, if you asked for, say, a chair with arms because you find it difficult to get out of a normal chair, or a particular keyboard to help with arthritis, that would be a reasonable adjustment, but if you asked to work from home three days a week when the expectation is that you’d be in the office, that wouldn’t necessarily be considered reasonable. It does depend on different things, and there isn’t a statutory right of appeal. You could always involve the union, if you’re a member.

Difficult to say not knowing what the adjustments were and the reasons,

They don't have to offer you the right to appeal but from a practical point of view they should have explained to you why they have refused.

If you feel that their refusal to make adjustments is discriminatory, you could lodge a Tribunal claim.

It might be worth asking for a meeting with HR to discuss as there may be adjustments that they could make if they have more detail. They are allowed to make a judgement as to what is reasonable even if you don't agree but sometimes a face to face meeting helps everyone understand each other's position

And my question is what would be the point.

I don't think you have a right to appeal but they should consider your request. If they've said no there may be a reason but if you give us more information we may be able to help.

This might help

https://www.acas.org.uk/reasonable-adjustments

Do you have a report from occupational health detailing the reasonable adjustments you need and why?
If so then I would ask for a meeting with your manager and HR to discuss the reasons why this cannot be accommodated.
If you don’t have an Occupational health report supporting this then I would get one

Unless it’s part of a formal procedure you don’t have a right of appeal but you could always ask to speak to a more senior manager. Are you in a union? Have you spoken to HR?

My experiences have been that it very much depends on the manager. I once asked for a significant adjustment relating to certain shifts because of a medication I’m on. I asked informally and they were a bit vague then booked me on anyway 🙄 In the end, I asked for an occupational health referral who confirmed that if I did those shifts, I had to skip my meds and would be more likely to have higher sickness rate. I got a lot of ‘Everyone has to do their fair share’ without any concept of the issues I have. I got more of my fair share of weekends. I left in the end because the manager just wasn’t understanding. It was a good move for me. New place is much better.
It depends on your work environment about ‘appealing’ but you can try to take it higher/occ health if you have it.

Have you been to occupational health? That should be the first step. If not that, then a letter from your GP/consultant outlining what adjustments your disability requires.

Arrange a meeting with your manager, their manager and/or HR to discuss.

It’s unusual for reasonable adjustments to be refused, if you actually have a disability and they actually are reasonable. They’re opening themselves up to legal action.

Thank you all for your comments. The reasonable adjustment request I asked for was a higher absence allowance in relation to the employer’s absence trigger points.

The director told me that the policy had to be applied to all staff in the same way.

I’ve read the policy and it says that the rules that apply to disability must be kept in mind. It goes on to say that the trigger points are guidelines only.

Since my absences are due to my (known) disabilities, it felt unfair to be subject to the same trigger points as everyone else. Hence why I asked for that specific reasonable adjustment…

You edited the post whilst I was replying.

All absences connected to a known disability should be considered fairly, a blanket lifting of the policy wouldn't necessarily be appropriate.

What you could argue is disability discrimination if you face action because of absence related to you disability.

Employers have to make REASONABLE adjustments - how much absence are you expecting to take? Would your absence have an impact on other employees or the business?

@Ohmygodthepain Yes, most of my absences (except one occasion where I had a sickness bug) are due to my disabilities. The director is aware of my disabilities.

I'm guessing their policy says this is applied across the board if they won't up it for the reasons you've given.

If they've got their own reasons to keep the meetings and documentation regardless of the cause of the absence, I doubt an appeal will find them not having considered your request and their own interests and found on balance that you don't need different triggers, even if you will be taking more time than average.

I work in big public sector org. Reasonable adjustments would be discussed in usual 1:1 meetings with managers, not formal meetings, so there would be no right to appeal. You could raise a complaint or grievance and would get the right to appeal following that outcome

I see you've had sickness absence, so appeal would be offered as part of sickness meeting outcomes. But no right to appeal over simply 'reasonable adjustments'

That’s not reasonable. You could be off sick for any number of reasons. They can’t give you a blanket lifting of the trigger limit. The reasonable adjustment would be that, after a back to work, they don’t start disciplinary procedures due to high absences if the absence was due to your disability… within reason. They can still manage you out for that if it gets to be just too often.