Is this Disability discrimination? Or capability issue?

[Nurse2024]

❤️*♀️ADVICE NEEDED PLEASE ❤️*♀️
My reasonable adjustments are being taken away despite hidden disability….i have fibromalgia and had 2 occupational health assessments with my employer that advise reduced targets and other things such as posturite chair and adjustable desk which has been provided.
My OH assessments advise work productivity is determined on severity of symptoms that day and targets should be adjusted and wellbeing reviewed and that my condition should be treated as a disability. My adjusted targets for reasonable adjustments have been in place since October and I’ve been advised a week ago in my 121 meeting by my manager that my reasonable adjustments for reduced targets (reduced workload) will be removed gradually over oncoming weeks and go back to normal as reasonable adjustments can not be made permanent they are only temporary for 6 months.
I expressed concern I will not be able to maintain the same workload as everyone else or perform at the same level with my condition and I asked what would happen if I didn’t meet my targets once reasonable adjustments are removed and he advised it would likely come down to a capability review. He advised and wrote minits stating they would be removed as everyone needs to be achieving the same performance and targets, as it would not be fair on any business to continue to pay the same salary as others and get a decreasing return back from an employee based on what their health condition allows them to do. I have been on sickness for a week following this 121 meeting due to the stress it has caused me knowing I may lose my job because I can’t perform the same as everyone else and the stress is making my fibromalgia symptoms worse. I would like advice please dos this come down to capability or is it disability discrimination and has anyone had perment reasonable adjustments before? Thankyou in advance.

[Nurse2024]

Xxxx

[ULA]

Fibromyalgia and other chronic fatigue syndromes are potentially disabling conditions and as such employers must make reasonable adjustments to ensure that you are not substantially disadvantaged when doing your job.

I am concerned that the implication is that your reasonable adjustments are only put in place for 6 months and then gradually removed without any further assessment on the condition that the person is suffering from.

Where you aware of that when they were put in place?

The very nature of a disability is that the person suffers from a long-term condition that impacts their ability to carry out day-to-day activities.

Other than the 121 with your manager have you raised this with anyone else e.g. a more senior manager or HR?

That is certainly what I would advise you to do in the first instance, to ascertain whether your manager is making decisions in isolation of how the business manages disability and reasonable adjustments.

[Nurse2024]

Thankyou for the response I was not made aware the reasonable adjustments would be temporary but my manager did repeatedly express he hopes with the adjustments InPlace with the desk and new chair I will be able to eventually manage normal capacity workload again and hoped for improvement. I advised I cannot manage the workload at the same level as everyone else due to my disability and although some days are better than others my condition will not go away. I havnt discussed with anyone else he informed me he needs to speak with employee relations further on The plan of action of removing it gradually. If I do t meet my targets once it is removed he advised it would come down to capability

[ULA]

The reasonable adjustments recommended by OH were not just about a new chair and desk but about managing your work load based on the severity of your symptoms on the day.

If you have not spoken to anyone about this other than the 121 with your manager, then you should be raising this as an issue.

Your manager may want to consider that this is potentially a capability issue if you cannot work to the same level as your colleagues but how it is handled could become disability discrimination.

[Nurse2024]

[Nurse2024]

[Nurse2024]

These were our last minits

[Nurse2024]

From the last meeting on reasonable adjustments

[Benny8902]

The reasonable adjustments recommended by OH were not just about a new chair and desk but about managing your work load based on the severity of your symptoms on the day.

If you have not spoken to anyone about this other than the 121 with your manager, then you should be raising this as an issue.

Your manager may want to consider that this is potentially a capability issue if you cannot work to the same level as your colleagues but how it is handled could become disability discrimination.

not a solicitor.


I have a question ULA (sorry for hijacking the thread) is this not part and parcel of the business dirty trick campaign, to use the "capability" card to give someone the boot?

Never heard of RA being removed after 6 months. Sounds like an isolated decision or potentially the HR department having little to no sight on how the law works.

Wouldn't it be wise to lodge a formal grievance? And say that due to the stress of such conduct (removing RA after 6 months) and make it clear that the discrimination, harassment and/or workplace stress purported upon your person has had and is having a profound and detrimental impact upon your abilities and capabilities.

Thus, if the employer does anything it would be in contravention or potentially amount to "less favourable", "victimisation", or "detrimental treatment", under the EqA and ERA 1996?

[Nurse2024]

Thankyou both, from the minits from our last meeting I’ve uploaded dos it sound like a capability issue or disability discrimination issue. I’m currently on my 2nd week of sickness since the meeting and the stress is making my fibromalgia symptoms worse. I feel like I don’t want to return to my role knowing that I’m not capable of doing it with lout the reasonable adjustments in place I advised them I wouldn’t meet the full targets due to my condition of which I previously attempted for months and pushed myself and made myself worse in hospital. But he said if I don’t meet the targets it will come down to capability as the company can’t be expected to treat me any different with less targets dependent in my health

[ULA]

This post will respond specifically to Benny8902 who has hijacked an OPs thread and I will address each of your points:

1. You seem to be under a misapprehension that businesses employ dirty tricks campaigns to use capability to dismiss staff. Some may do but many go to great lengths to accommodate reasonable adjustments for staff members who are disabled. A point of disability discrimination is that an employee must not be treated less favourably than a non-disabled employee as a result of something arising in consequence of that disability.

2. As you will have seen from my post I have already stated my concern that a reasonable adjustment has been given a time limit for an ongoing condition where OH have suggested a range of adjustments, one of which needs to be monitored on a regular basis on the needs of the OP.

3. The OP has confirmed they have only had the discussion with their manager. Unfortunately my experience is that not all managers necessarily know all the company policies and procedures and the support that may be in place for disabled employees, that is why I have suggested the OP raises this with someone more senior or HR. Going in "guns blazing" with a grievance straight away, without having at least tried to raise this outside the immediate management structure is not the best approach, particularly if this is an isolated decision and matters can be resolved without the need for a grievance. If that does not provide a good outcome then yes, there is always the grievance process to pursue.

4. The OP certainly has the support of a number of section of legislation if needed.

[ULA]

This post is for Nurse2024 my first question regarding the notes from your meeting is as far as you are concerned do they accurately reflect the discussion you had with your manager? If not have you gone back to him about this?

You say you are in your 2nd week of sickness absence for which I am assuming you are reporting your absence to your manager or have you been informing anyone else in the business? If so what position do they hold in relation to your manager e.g. HR or more senior manager.

The OH assessments that you have had, who in the business arranged them and when the report came back were you involved in the discussion of the reason adjustments that had been suggested from the reports and what would be put in place for you? At this time was there an acknowledgement that they recognised your condition as a disability.

Did you have this condition when you joined the company and where they aware of it at the time, or has it been a gradual deterioration in your fibromyalgia during your employment that has exacerbated your symptoms and led to the OH assessments being arranged.

I appreciate this seems like a lot of question but I am trying to understand who else has been involved in the process of your health and wellbeing and over what period this has been.

I appreciate some of this may be sensitive for you on an open forum, in which case I am happy for you to PM me the details.

From this information I can set out how I think you may want to raise this with the company in terms of both the 6 months RA situation, work targets and the effect this meeting has had on your condition and health.