TUC Launch Reasonable Adjustment Passports
A motion presented by the GMB (supported by Accord) at the TUC’s Disabled Workers Conference in 2018 called for the creation of reasonable adjustment disability passports.
The TUC has worked with its Disabled Workers Committee, the GMB and its disabled workers, and other activists to create a model passport and policy that can be used to support disabled workers. Feedback was sought from affiliate unions and the Equality and Human Rights Commission to ensure that the passport meets the needs of disabled members.
New analysis conducted by the TUC highlights that one in ten disabled people dropped out of work in the UK last year, and one in seven started work with a new employer. The purpose of the model passport is to ensure that disabled people have the adjustments in place that they need to flourish at work.
Accord welcomes the introduction of an easy-to-use and portable adjustment passport — we think it will be beneficial for colleagues who need the support. As we often see through casework, it can be really frustrating for our members having to explain their health every time there’s a change of manager, another restructure, or a change in role — it’s draining bringing people up to speed, and it’s unnecessary to have to review what’s already been agreed in these situations (unless of course there’s been a change in medical need).
The Equality Act 2010 states that employers have a legal obligation to make reasonable adjustments for disabled workers in order to remove, reduce or prevent disadvantages. There are a number of ways that recommendations can be made, but most commonly our members will find these via Occupational Health or the Workplace Adjustment provider.
We believe the passports offer an excellent opportunity to capture all the adjustments that a colleague may require. It’s a live record, and should be used as part of a supportive health & wellbeing process. It’s a practical way that we can ensure that up-to-date, appropriate, practical and correct reasonable adjustments are in place for colleagues with health conditions, impairments or disabilities.
The topic of encouraging employers to review their policies and procedures was debated at Accord’s biennial conference in April 2018.
Motion 55 called on Accord to engage with Lloyds Banking Group (LBG) and TSB…
…‘on matters of equality, diversity and inclusion in order to develop progressive policies, adopting the highest standards of care for colleagues’.
The motion pointed to an initiative that Accord members felt the banks should adopt immediately — the TUC Dying to Work Charter (as discussed in previous blog posts, TSB and LBG have both now signed up to this initiative).
We’ve started conversations with LBG about how they can ensure they review their policy to incorporate the best practices from the passports and include the best support possible for colleagues — this includes better communicating the ‘portability’ of the adjustments and better management upskilling. We’ll also be trying to take this forward in TSB where there’s an ongoing review of existing policies and procedures.
If you’ve got any feedback you’d like to share about the topics discussed in this article, contact us at equality@accordhq.org
