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Welsh Recruitment meets Ann McGuire (Continued)

Welsh Recruitment: Employers are under a duty to make reasonable adjustments for the recruitment process to prevent disabled people being put at a disadvantage. These might include adjustments like..

Ann McGuire:Providing recruitment materials in accessible formats, like Large Print or Braille, for a person with visual impairment; or
allowing a person with dyslexia to have additional time to complete a written exercise; or allowing a person with speech impairment, or a mental impairment to have more time for an interview.

However, adjustments are only required if they are reasonable in all the circumstances of the individual case. Factors such as the cost and practicality of making an adjustment may be taken into account in deciding what is reasonable.

Welsh Recruitment: Since the introduction of the DDA what positive changes have been made to increase employment opportunities for people with disabilities?

Ann McGuire: Our latest research shows that employers’ attitudes to employing disabled people are more positive. They are now
more likely to make adjustments in the workplace - 80 per cent of employers who have a disabled employee have made adjustments. And, whilst two-fifths of these said this was due to the DDA more than 60 per cent of employers made adjustments because it was the right thing to do for the disabled person.

Since 1998, the employment rate of disabled people has increased from 38.1 per cent to 47.4 per cent. This is due to a number of factors - employment programmes for disabled people, in-work benefits and the availability of support, such as Access to Work, have all had a positive influence.

Welsh Recruitment: Many small to medium sized companies argue that they don’t have enough resources and facilities available to employ someone with a disability, what would you say to this?

Ann McGuire: The DDA only requires employers to do what is reasonable – they are not expected to make adjustments that are not practical or affordable. It’s important to remember that many disabled people do not require any adjustments to be made and many others do not require substantial, expensive adjustments. Research shows the majority of employers that have made
adjustments found them to be easy, with most reporting no difficulties. It also shows a lot of the adjustments made were low cost, such as allowing flexible working times or varying hours and providing car parking spaces.

Welsh Recruitment: If an employee or jobseeker feels they have been discriminated against based on their disabilities what action can they take?

Ann McGuire: There are various actions a person can take. First of all, I would advise a person to take the matter up informally with
the employer. Once the employer is made aware of the impact of his or her actions or working arrangements, they may be willing to address the issue.

If not, the person may wish to take formal legal action by applying to an Employment Tribunal, usually within 3 months of the alleged discriminatory act having taken place.

We introduced Dispute Resolution Regulations, which came into force on 1 October 2004. These are intended to help resolve disputes in employment, including disability discrimination, without to the need for an Employment Tribunal.

(End of Interview)

If the person needs advice on his or her rights under the DDA, and how to enforce them, they can always access the Disability Rights Commission’s website, or contact its helpline: 08457 622 633 or 08457 622 644 (Textphone).

(Picture: Photo of Ann McGuire stood at a grey lectern with a Want to Work logo on the front of the lectern)

For more information contact: atw-teamwales@jobcentreplus.gsi.gov.uk