Reasonable adjustments

jackiej47

I have MS and have asked for home working during the afternoons as a reasonable adjustment to help manage fatigue.  My employer has offered a trial on 1 afternoon a week only.  Any advice on how to react to this?  Currently signed off work following a fall at work.  Previously wfh on multiple ad hoc occasions and during pandemic.  So a trial should not be necessary.  My suspicion is the manager is being deliberately difficult.  Any advice gratefully received.

Alex_Alumni

Hello there @jackiej47 and welcome, thanks for reaching out with your query

Has your employer been able to explain why they are offering 1 afternoon instead of every afternoon? 

ACAS has some advice and information on reasonable adjustments:

If the employer believes a suggested adjustment is unreasonable, they should talk with the employee or job applicant and:

• explain why they think the adjustment is not possible

• try and find another option

If an employer does not make reasonable adjustments for an employee or job applicant with a disability, it counts as discrimination under the law.

Are you a member of a union where you work? It may be useful to have someone with you in meetings about this, a colleague, someone from HR, an advocate, or union rep, to help ensure a record of discussions, and to help make sure discrimination isn't happening.

It should also be noted, that any adjustments agreed to should be kept in writing.

You can contact ACAS if you feel you need to take any grievances further, but hopefully you'll be able to find a suitable option with your employer. 

Let us know how things go, or if we've missed anything and could help further, please don't hesitate to ask.  

Alex

jackiej47

the reason given was to assess the effect on their business, however they already know it is 0 as it has been done on multiple occasions in the past.  Unfortunately there is no union or HR separate department

Alex_Alumni

I'm sorry they're being so inflexible. I would look into raising a grievance. If you've clearly communicated and evidenced that there would be no impact on their business, and there's no change from your employer, certainly reach out to ACAS for support. 

Have your employers stated how long they'd like this trial to last?

Karen7788

Hope it works out for you @jackiej47, I was lucky with my request at work, I used the letter template off the Mind website. 

Alex_Alumni

For reference the template letter @Karen7788 has helpfully suggested can be found on Mind's website.

Keep us up to date with how things go @jackiej47

jackiej47

They suggest trial Monday only for 4 weeks but no suggestion as to what happens next 

Alex_Alumni

Thanks for explaining @jackiej47

Definitely get some clarity on what happens after the trial if you can. It's helpful to be clear about exactly what you expect and what they're expecting, that way you can work towards the best solution.

If things don't go smoothly you can look into raising a grievance or a complaint, but be sure to try and put everything on the table first. 

L_Volunteer

This sounds really difficult @jackiej47. My only other thoughts are occupational health or external services.

Is there anything which might help this to feel more manageable for you at the moment? We are all here for you 

jackiej47

Thanks for your support.  I am crrently signed off but will be happy to go back in the mornings as long as I wfh for the aftternoons. It was occy health that recommended it and they are being as difficult as possible.I am not willing to go back without an agreement in place.