Reasonable Accommodations for College Staff

The following is content on this page:

• Needs Assessment - what is it?
• What happens after the needs assessment?
• What supports are available?
• What is the procedure for implementing reasonable accommodations?

Needs Assessment - what is it?

A needs assessment explores aspects of a person's work, the work environment and the individual staff member's abilities and disability, with the ultimate aim of recommending accommodations (if necessary) to enable the staff member to perform all aspects of their work.

A needs assessment will be undertaken by staff in the Disability Service. It may include examination of any of the following:

• Roles and responsibilities associated with the work;
• Time use and management of the workload;
• The physical environment, including access and egress;
• Technology used in the work environment;
• Health and safety issues;
• Communication issues and needs;
• Access to information.

It will also involve discussion of possible accommodations or adjustments. Recommendations arising from the needs assessment will need to be discussed and agreed with the line manager.

For the staff member:

Please have all relevant information about your disability or health condition, and information about your work and current issues ready to discuss with the Disability Officer.

For the manager:

It is the manager's responsibility to arrange the needs assessment and with the Disability Service and to meet with the Disability Officer to discuss reasonable accommodations in the work place.

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What happens after the needs assessment?

The Disability Officer will produce a draft report, outlining the findings of the needs assessment. This report is a request for reasonable accommodations.

For the staff member:

The draft report will be sent to you, for you to make whatever changes may be required. You will be asked to agree to the report being circulated to your Manager.

You will also be asked if you agree to the final version of the report being sent to a number of named people (for example, your Line-Manager). This final version of the report is known as the "reasonable accommodation request". It is your choice whether or not the report is sent to certain people. Please note if you do not agree for disclosure of this report, reasonable accommodations may not be provided.

For the manager:

You will be asked to review the document. Once the final version of the document (known as the reasonable accommodation request) is circulated, you are required to implement the recommendations, which are reasonable accommodations or supports that will be put in place for the staff member. A copy of the reasonable accommodation report should be kept in the local staff members' file.

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What supports are available?

The supports available are known as "reasonable accommodations", and are a legal duty of the College.

People with disabilities are protected against discrimination under the Equality legislation (Employment Equality Act 1998 - 2004 and the Equal Status Act 2000 - 2004). This includes the provision of reasonable accommodations.

Reasonable accommodation may be any action that helps alleviate a substantial disadvantage. An employer is required to take appropriate measures to enable a person who has a disability to have access to employment, to participate or advance in employment, and to undertake training, unless the measures would impose a disproportionate burden on the employer.

The purpose of reasonable accommodation is to enable an employee to fulfil the full duties of their position.

College has developed guidelines and a standard procedure to assess the needs of a person with a disability (as described above) and to provide appropriate accommodations.

Reasonable accommodations are agreed in collaboration with the individual staff member, the line manager, and the disability service. Other groups (such as the Staff Office) may also provide support in this area.

Accommodations may include:

• Adaptation or alteration of physical space and/or workspace furniture;
• Installation or provision of specialist assistive technology;
• Advice on specific work management strategies;
• Provision of information in an alternate format;
• Sign language interpreter;
• The provision of specific training.

The specific supports, or accommodations, will vary, depending on the individual staff member's situation.

Specific reasonable accommodations also may include:

• Ergonomics assessment - for staff with specific disabilities, advice can be provided about safe and ergonomic use of computers.
• Occupational Therapy intervention, which focuses on enabling people to perform the tasks that they want and need to do on a daily basis, may also be available. This support focus is on the practical "doing". An Occupational Therapist will carry out an assessment in the following areas:

Person

• Skill training
• Assertiveness / Communication / Managing assistants / Stress Management
• Pacing /energy conservation /health promotion
• Workload management

Environment Assessment and recommendation for adaptations or modifications to the physical environment in College (including wheelchair access, layout of work space, ergonomic furniture etc. The assessment for and recommendation of adaptations or modifications can, where possible be followed through with implementation and evaluation of the changes made.

Occupation Task analysis and breakdown of work tasks.

For more information about either of these, please contact the Disability Service.

See the Code of Practice section 2, 6 and appendix for further details.

Case Study 2

A member of academic staff went for his needs assessment with the disability service.

Since the development of his physical disability, he has been encountering difficulties typing and standing for long periods. He had forwarded the evidence of disability, which was a letter from his consultant outlining his condition.

He was asked about his current work, and how having a physical disability affected this. Having outlined his concerns, it was agreed that a solution to typing would be useful. So the reasonable accommodation was to use Dragon Naturally Speaking, which allows him to speak what he wants to type, rather than manually typing.

For lectures, it was agreed that the line-manager would be asked if it would be possible for the academic to teach in a small number of venues, so that a chair or perching stool can be used. He was also given advice about pacing and energy conservation.

At the end of the assessment, the staff member was relieved that many of the issues require only simple strategies. It was agreed that a report outlining the potential accommodations would be drawn up and sent to the staff member and the line-manager.

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What is the procedure for implementing reasonable accommodations?

The procedure for availing of reasonable accommodation is detailed in the Code of Practice.

The report produced after the needs assessment (the reasonable accommodation request) will outline reasonable accommodations.

For the staff member:

Your manager will play a central role in facilitating reasonable accommodation, and is responsible for regularly reviewing any adjustments with you.

For the manager:

If funding is required for reasonable accommodations, you should apply for this by submitting the reasonable accommodation request prepared by the Disability Service for central funding to the Establishment Manager in the Staff Office.

It is the manager's responsibility to implement any accommodations as promptly as possible. These may include changes to the physical environment and/or changes in work practices.

It may be worth considering providing disability equality training for all your staff, in order to better implement reasonable accommodations. It is recommended that you discuss this with the staff member/s with disabilities before organising training.

See the Code of Practice section 6 and Procedures for further details.

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