Roles and responsibilities

This resource outlines the role and responsibility that individuals and services play in implementing reasonable adjustments for disabled staff.

Reasonable adjustments can take time to implement, in some cases it may take several weeks to order equipment, therefore is it extremely important that all individuals involved in the process act as quickly as possible to ensure that members of staff receive the support they need.

Individual members of staff

A member of staff is not required to disclose a disability or long term health condition, nor do they need to provide medical evidence or a diagnosis in order for them to be supported by the University. However, disclosure is encouraged to ensure that the appropriate resources and specialist support can be fully identified and provided.

It is important that you provide your line manager with consent to engage with relevant support services so they are able to best support you and explore the implementation of reasonable adjustments as quickly as possible. The support services include but are not limited to OH, WHSO, IT, HR, Estates and Facilities, alongside Department and Faculty Nominated Persons.

Regular communication with your line manager is key to ensure adjustments are effective, especially if your circumstances change. Members of staff should complete an Individual Adjustments Plan with their line manager in order to explore and agree their support needs.

If there are delays in implementing reasonable adjustments, members of staff are encouraged to follow up with their line manager. If this does not resolve the delay, they can speak to their manager’s line manager for an update or explanation, or explore further with their HR Adviser, who would then be able to encourage the department to ensure timely implementation.

Line Managers

Line Managers are responsible for overseeing and implementing reasonable adjustments. This includes coordinating with relevant University teams/services as quickly as possible in order to progress the implementation of any adjustments.

The primary tool that Line Managers should use to explore the support that individuals require, which may involve making reasonable adjustments, is the Individual Adjustments Plan. The Plan acts as a record of support that has been agreed and can be revisited regularly to check in with the member of staff to review the effectiveness of any agreed adjustments. The Individual Adjustment Plan must be co-created by both the staff member and the line manager, and any changes to the Plan should be discussed together.

Given the important role that line managers play in supporting and enabling their members of staff, while also managing the needs of the team and the service they provide, the decision to implement a reasonable adjustment ultimately falls to them and the department.

As such, Line Managers should familiarise themselves with relevant Equality Legislation by completing the online Disability Awareness training module, while reading the Disability in Employment Policy and the Reasonable Adjustments Process. Line Managers can seek advice from their HR Adviser, as appropriate.

While it is the role of Occupational Health and other relevant services to make recommendations about appropriate support, it is a Line Manager’s responsibility to first make a judgement as to whether an adjustment can be put in place and then to manage the process of implementing it. If they determine that a particular adjustment cannot be implemented it is their responsibility to explore reasonable alternatives that enable the member of staff to be supported in their role and overcome any barriers.

Reasonable adjustments will need to be considered on a case by case basis. For information and guidance on this, including examples of reasonable adjustments, see the Guidance for Line Managers section of the Reasonable adjustment process.

HR Advisers

HR Advisers collaborate with teams like the Equality and Diversity Office to create policies, guidance, training, and materials to help staff, especially Line Managers, understand the impact of disabilities and long-term health conditions, so that members of staff can be supported in their roles.

HR Advisers may also provide advice and guidance to line managers and members of staff about the implementation of reasonable adjustments. This may include a discussion about funding, or a prompt to line managers about the importance of implementing reasonable adjustments.

Occupational Health

Occupational Health’s role includes providing advice about appropriate workplace adjustments.

When Occupational Health (OH) are asked to make an assessment, it is their role to advise and make recommendations to the Line Manager, HR and members of staff about appropriate workplace adjustments. This will be based on the day-to-day impacts and implications of an individual’s disability or health condition. It is important to highlight that although OH can make recommendations regarding an individual’s needs, the ability to make decisions and to implement a recommendation, lies with the Line Manager and the department. OH may be consulted for advice regarding an individual’s circumstances, however it is the role of Line Managers to manage the overall process of implementing reasonable adjustments.

Members of staff are not required to undertake an assessment via OH in order for their department to implement reasonable adjustments on their behalf. Implementation of reasonable adjustments does not always need to be recommended by, or discussed with, OH. Where a staff member requests a reasonable adjustment that the department is able to make easily, at low cost, and where they know the adjustment will resolve the barrier for the individual, the department can implement this without an assessment from OH. For example, providing a height adjustable desk or a specialist keyboard.

If there are multiple and/or more complex requests for reasonable adjustments, a line manager may contact OH for advice and further assessment, with the consent of the staff member.

OH can provide advice and support in the following ways:

• Following the completion of an initial health questionnaire, this may lead to an individual being contacted by OH with an offer of support or further discussion based on their responses.
• Following a discussion with their line manager about reasonable adjustments a member of staff may receive a management referral to OH for specific advice. A management referral is the most common route to access OH advice. Any recommendations given by OH require the consent of the member of staff prior to be shared with the Line Managers.
• Advice can sometimes include signposting to Access to Work.
• Direct queries from individuals and Line Managers to OH, are via email to occupational-health@york.ac.uk.

Health and Safety

If there are potential health and safety related implications involved in making a reasonable adjustment, individuals are advised to speak to their Line Manager, alongside their Departmental Safety Adviser (DSA), in the first instance. If any issues or problems are encountered, these can be escalated to the Head of Department (HoD) who is ultimately responsible for all health and safety matters within their department, while also seeking advice from the Workplace Health and Safety Office (WHSO).

The role of the Workplace Health and Safety Office (WHSO) is to provide advice and guidance in relation to health and safety related matters, such as navigating relevant policies, guidance and providing in-person and online health and safety training.

For example, in the case of developing a PEEP (Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan) individuals may work with their line manager and DSA, using the online guidance, while seeking advice from the WHSO if required.

It should be noted that members of staff (all computer users) are advised to complete the online Display Screen Equipment (DSE) training to check whether their computer workstation setup and working habits do not pose any health risks. More information on this is available online. For general information about Health and Safety at the University, see the online resources at: https://www.york.ac.uk/staff/health-and-safety/

Estates

The Estates Team facilitates the implementation of physical reasonable adjustments.

The following is a process map for raising requests for physical accessibility related adjustments with Estates:

1. A member of staff discusses their support needs with their line manager. The line manager agrees to an adjustment.
2. The line manager* raises a Planon ticket via Facilities Helpdesk under the "Accessibility - Equipment" detailing what physical adjustments are needed. It should be noted that raising a ticket via Planon is the fastest way to enter the request, however, if colleagues are unable to raise requests via this method, they can email fm-helpdesk@york.ac.uk or telephone 01904 325555, though this may lead to slight delays in the process.
*Please note that a member of staff (rather than their line manager) can raise a ticket / accessibility request, however Estates do require management agreement and involvement in order to progress with requests, so this may lead to delays.
3. The Planon ticket is assigned to the relevant Estates Zone Manager.
4. The Estates Zone Manager will then make contact with the line manager to discuss the physical adjustment in more detail. This will usually lead to a site visit, and it may require the member of staff to also be present.
5. Once the ticket has been raised and there has been a site visit (if required), Estates will take over the process, ordering the equipment and managing installation. They may need to contact the line manager again to discuss details about the installation dates and possible disruption that may be caused. After the site visit Estates is then able to place an order for the relevant equipment, which has an 8-12 week lead time. Therefore, starting the process as early as possible is advisable.
6. If the requirements are complicated or additional advice is needed, the Zone Manager may escalate the matter to the Head of Estates Operations and Maintenance and then to the Accessibility Project Manager as required.
7. The Estates Zone Manager will then process payments* and the contractors will complete the works to the fabric of a building (in instances where installation is required), and liaise with the Fire and Security teams if required.
*Costs for reasonable adjustments are funded either in part or fully by the University department.
8. If required, the Estates Zone Manager will pass any furniture requests to the Space Planning team to progress.
9. The work is then completed.