Disabled Persons

Employers have a duty to ensure the health and safety of employees at work, so far as is reasonably practicable. This duty is owed to employees individually and means that any employee with a disability is owed a greater duty of care. Employers may need to take additional measures to ensure the health and safety of these employees.
Similar consideration should be given to disabled visitors to the premises.

Under the Workplace (Health, Safety & Welfare) Regulations 1992, where necessary, areas of the workplace used or occupied by a disabled person must be organised to take account of their disability. Doors, passageways, stairs, washing and toilet facilities as well as workstations may be affected.

Employers and service providers (e.g. hotels, banks, hospitals and restaurants) are required by law to make reasonable adjustments so that disabled persons are not discriminated against.

In determining whether it is reasonable to expect an employer to take a particular step in order to comply with a duty to make reasonable adjustments, regard must be given to the: -

• extent to which the adjustment would prevent the effect or hazard in question
• extent to which it is practical for the employer to make the adjustment
• costs incurred in making the adjustment
• extent to which any of the employers activities were disrupted by the adjustment.
• employers’ financial and other resources
• effect on other employees
• adjustments made for other disabled employees
• extent to which the disabled employee is willing to co-operate with the adjustments.
• the nature of his activities and the size of his undertaking.

By law, the burden of proof rests on the employer to prove that no reasonable adjustments were available to enable the disabled person to work safely, and that the employer has done all that is reasonably practicable.

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