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Reasonable Adjustments for a Disabled Employee
Rank: Forum user 
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Hi,
I'm not even sure whether this is health and safety related or HR related ? We have a young lady applying for a position in a QC laboratory who requires a wheel chair at all times, the building is an old one and doesn't have a disabled toilet in that particular building, there are numerous doors to negoiate too. Would reasonable adjustments mean to install several power assisted doors? Make the gaps between the benches wider etc.. whats reasonable and whats not? Would it be based on profits? I've never dealt with this issue before and not sure whether it falls under EHS ? I've spoken to the local council disability employment advisor but they were not helpful. Edited by user 12 November 2019 14:11:18(UTC)
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Rank: Super forum user 
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ACAS offer advice on what is reasonable here:
https://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=6074
Shame the local advisor couldn't help as that's who gov.uk steer you towards.
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 1 user thanked RVThompson for this useful post.
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Rank: Forum user
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Try contact Access to Work. I've never used them personally but saw them recommended a lot and they can give advice and help provide work equipment/funding.
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1 user thanked fscott for this useful post.
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Rank: Forum user
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Access to work can also provide financial aid towards any reasonable adjustment - though it does depend on the size of the organisation (i.e. over 500 staff and the employer is liable for the first £2000 or so of any equipment / alteration necessary with this figure reducing as the size of the company reduces). In the past it was the employer that contacted Access to Work and asked them to come in but if I remember correctly, it's now the employee to has to contact them in the first instance - their website should be able to give you more information.
I would however add a wee note of caution - the adviser they send will provide a report and sometimes picks the most expensive options rather than what would be acceptable (and at a reasonable price).
Example - I had them attend for a member of staff with specific eyesight issues and they recommended a speech recognition device for her - that was fine but it was the most expensive one on the market at the time. When I queried the model, they admitted there were cheaper models out there that would do the exact same job but that this one they had recommended before to another company (who had bought it) so they could "recommend it". I asked if they'd actually seen it in situ and with a person using it and they admitted that they hadn't and had only been told it was "very fancy" so best to ask them to give you a couple of options if possible.
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Rank: Super forum user
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In my experience, it's also important to take the recommendations of access audits with a pinch of salt. Some of the ones I've seen have taken an over-literal (am I allowed to say anal?) approach, and not come up with common sense solutions. A power station I once audited had had such an audit done, and amongst the recommendations was that an entry turnstile be removed as wheelchair users couldn't get through it (when there was a big electric gate next to it that could be opened), and that there was no wheelchair access to the top level of the power station (not only silly but quite dangerous to do).
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