Download Disability, Occupational Health, the Equality Act and

‘On-offer’ Occupational Health Referrals of Disabled Candidates Post Interview
This guidance applies to Disabled People who are offered work at UCL. The Equality
Act 2010 defines a Disabled Person as someone who has “a physical or mental
impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse affect on their ability to
carry out normal day-to-day activities”. This guidance therefore concerns those with
a newly diagnosed, pre-existing, emerging or changed physical, cognitive or mental
health condition. There may be some occasions on which Occupational Health
advice is sought after a conditional job offer has been made and prior to a confirmed
offer being issued. This may sometimes be advisable if, for example, a job candidate
discloses an impairment/condition to the recruiting manager during the recruitment
process. This could occur if a candidate has asked for adjustments to be made at
some point in the recruitment process. A candidate’s impairment/condition may also
become ‘known’ to the recruitment panel. For instance, it will be clear that someone
fits the Equality Act definition of being a Disabled Person if they have a speech
impairment or use a Sign Language Interpreter at their interview.
The Equality Act 2010 prohibits asking health-related questions before a job offer has
been made, except in very exceptional circumstances. Managers must not ask any
health related questions or make Occupational Health referrals until a conditional job
offer has been made, unless they have been advised otherwise by their HR
Consultant. More information can be found here http://www.ecu.ac.uk/yourquestions/pre-employment-health-questionnaires
It should be assumed that if a candidate has demonstrated that they have the
necessary skills, knowledge, experience and qualifications to be offered an
appointment, that any impairment/condition they have will not be a relevant factor
when determining their capacity to undertake the duties of that appointment. The
purpose of an Occupational Health referral therefore is to advise the recruitment
manager on adjustments they can consider to enable the successful applicant to
undertake their role successfully with as smooth a start to their work at UCL as
possible. If the manager thinks that the workplace or the nature of the work to be
undertaken is likely to create obstacles for a Disabled Person, adjustments may need
to be made so that they can do the job which they have been offered. Under such
circumstances, it may be helpful to make an ‘on-offer’ Occupational Health referral in
order to obtain appropriate advice. This is likely to be particularly useful where the
person who has been offered the job is unsure themselves as to the adjustments
they might need.
Additional advice can also be sought from the Equalities and Diversity Team and
Human Resources consultants, who will work together to give joined-up advice. An
independent assessment can also be requested as part of an Access to Work (AtW)
or Remploy application. AtW may be able to give detailed practical advice about
specialist equipment and the need for support workers e.g. a hearing assistant
although, it is often useful to have some idea of the type of support that may be
needed prior to contacting AtW. For a new employee or for an employee who has
changed post within UCL, any approach to AtW must take place within the first six
weeks following the start date of the employee. Besides Departmental funding and
resources available through AtW, the Equalities and Diversity Team has a small
central budget which may be called upon to assist recruitment managers needing to
make reasonable adjustments.
Once advice has been obtained from the employee themselves, where appropriate,
the Occupational Health Service, the Equalities and Diversity Team and AtW or
Remploy about the adjustments required by the newly appointed member of staff, the
recruiting manager must decide whether or not some or all of these adjustments are
‘reasonable’. If it is believed that any of the requested adjustments may be
‘unreasonable’ and that failure to implement them may render it impossible for the
person who has provisionally been offered the job to undertake key aspects of the
role, the recruitment manager should consult with and take advice from HR. Under
these circumstances, it may be lawful to retract the conditional job offer if the
University can demonstrate that the adjustments required for this individual to be able
to undertake the role are unreasonable and without them she/he would be ‘incapable’
of performing these tasks. Such an eventuality is extremely rare. It is unlikely that an
individual will reach this stage in the recruitment process without having
demonstrated adequately their capacity to undertake a given role, provided they have
the necessary support and equipment in place to do so. UCL is a large, well
resourced and inclusive employer and we anticipate that the vast majority of
adjustments can be accommodated.