A question on Employment rights - Equality Act, Any Company lawyers / HR people on this site? |
A question on Employment rights - Equality Act, Any Company lawyers / HR people on this site? |
Wed, 20 Mar 2019 - 19:37
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#1
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Member Group: Members Posts: 683 Joined: 19 Jul 2017 Member No.: 93,086 |
Not a motoring question. So don't necessarily expect an answer here.
But I wonder if anyone can suggest an alternative website to advise on employment rights. Doesn't seem to fit MSE. I'll give a brief synopsis. My wife has a serious condition. Not cancer - but needed chemo. The main symptom is chronic fatigue. But she can manage this with appropriate rest. She is a supply teacher and has wound down her bookings to cope. She is in the process of applying for early retirement from teaching, which is being supported by her consultants. If she gets early retirement from teaching - let's assume so for the purposes of this post - she will never be able to teach again. However she wants to continue working odd hours as and when she is able. Hence she applied to be an exam invigilator at local college; had the interview last week. Seemed ideal - there will be a pool of invigilators - and she'll be able to pick and choose shifts from a rota at exam times to suit herself, and allow recovery time. She was accepted today. Whoop! Whoop! They are now asking for proof of qualifications (fair enough) And have included a health questionnaire... Now I know that an employer cannot ask health questions in Interview process - due to risk of discrimination against people with disabilities. So no questions were asked - or details volunteered - about health in interview. After a job offer I know that they can ask about health & disabilities - for the purposes to see if she has needs any adjustments to work. However the health questionnaire asked a lot of questions which I'm not sure are legal or appropriate. e.g. How many days has she had off sick in the last 2 years. [The answer is zero as supply teaching is piece work - so no sick pay! But she has worked less than 50% of time] How often has she seen a doctor! Does she have a current condition. List the drugs she is taking etc. Height & Weight [ She is not overweight - but is it really appropriate for HR to ask for BMI? ] Just need advice on what HR are entitled to ask; and what she is obliged to answer. She doesn't see why they need to know her drug regime, for example. There is also the question of what to answer for ' Do you consider yourself to be disabled?' which is done for Equal Opportunities; and work adjustment. She doesn't expect any special adjustments to be made for her. She won't be able to work 9-5 5 days a week; but that would be true of many in the pool for various domestic reasons. . |
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Wed, 20 Mar 2019 - 19:37
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Advertise here! |
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Wed, 20 Mar 2019 - 20:07
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#2
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Member Group: Members Posts: 6,963 Joined: 19 Dec 2006 From: Near Calais Member No.: 9,683 |
If it's any help I have a friend on Facebook who is ex Fire Brigade Union man and now works for a solicitor in the HR/employment law sector if that's any help. He may offer a bit of free advice on FB in a PM. He "owes me a couple of favours.
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Wed, 20 Mar 2019 - 20:11
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#3
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Member Group: Members Posts: 683 Joined: 19 Jul 2017 Member No.: 93,086 |
Wow! Thanks!
Feel free to cut and paste the text above and PM him. Or PM me and we can exchange FB details... |
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Wed, 20 Mar 2019 - 21:12
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#4
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Member Group: Members Posts: 3,306 Joined: 4 Mar 2017 Member No.: 90,659 |
Firstly sorry to hear about what your wife has gone through.
Most of the time they ask the questions so they can consider reasonable adjustments. Without making assumptions I guess if the absence level was very high and she was applying for a full time role they might decide to try and pair her with another teacher so continuity if education to students isn't affected. If she doesn't disclose anything then she can hardly complain if they don't offer an OH assessment and don't make reasonable adjustments she may need, e.g. cancelling shifts at short notice. FWIW I have a not dissimilar chronic conditon, which is normally fine but if it goes wrong, it goes very wrong. Had the same qualms about disclosing it - they asked for a lot of details. But they organised an OH assessment and agreed any time off for that condition would be without penalty from an absence makes management point of view. |
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Thu, 21 Mar 2019 - 09:57
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#5
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Member Group: Members Posts: 683 Joined: 19 Jul 2017 Member No.: 93,086 |
Firstly sorry to hear about what your wife has gone through. Most of the time they ask the questions so they can consider reasonable adjustments. Without making assumptions I guess if the absence level was very high and she was applying for a full time role they might decide to try and pair her with another teacher so continuity if education to students isn't affected. If she doesn't disclose anything then she can hardly complain if they don't offer an OH assessment and don't make reasonable adjustments she may need, e.g. cancelling shifts at short notice. FWIW I have a not dissimilar chronic conditon, which is normally fine but if it goes wrong, it goes very wrong. Had the same qualms about disclosing it - they asked for a lot of details. But they organised an OH assessment and agreed any time off for that condition would be without penalty from an absence makes management point of view. Thank you. This post has reassured her more than I could! |
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Thu, 21 Mar 2019 - 10:01
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#6
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Member Group: Members Posts: 56,198 Joined: 9 Sep 2003 From: Warwickshire Member No.: 317 |
Have you/she tried ACAS, both the website and the help line are very good.
-------------------- There is no such thing as a law abiding motorist, just those who have been scammed and those yet to be scammed!
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Thu, 21 Mar 2019 - 10:22
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#7
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Member Group: Members Posts: 683 Joined: 19 Jul 2017 Member No.: 93,086 |
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Thu, 21 Mar 2019 - 14:56
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#8
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Member Group: Members Posts: 6,963 Joined: 19 Dec 2006 From: Near Calais Member No.: 9,683 |
Post deleted. This post has been edited by roythebus: Thu, 21 Mar 2019 - 20:51 |
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Thu, 21 Mar 2019 - 17:52
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#9
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Member Group: Members Posts: 683 Joined: 19 Jul 2017 Member No.: 93,086 |
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Thu, 21 Mar 2019 - 20:51
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#10
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Member Group: Members Posts: 6,963 Joined: 19 Dec 2006 From: Near Calais Member No.: 9,683 |
i'll do that now.
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Fri, 22 Mar 2019 - 01:36
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#11
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Member Group: Members Posts: 35 Joined: 28 Feb 2009 Member No.: 26,629 |
The question "' Do you consider yourself to be disabled?'" may be asked as a number of employers take part in a scheme which guarantees that individuals who are disabled and meet the minimum requirements for the job are automatically offered an interview
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Lo-Fi Version | Time is now: Thursday, 28th March 2024 - 23:07 |