Disability at work and not being able to do something

[Z064life]

Hi,

When starting a new job, if you have a disability which effects you in doing certain everyday things, does this mean you wouldn't have to do those tasks?

For example, I mentioned in my new job how I have a medical condition but I didn't get a chance to expand on this. My colleague mentioned how I might have to do presentations to clients as to help sell the software, but in my case, a mixture of developmental problems and conditions makes me a poor public speaker in front of a crowd (so if I do this task I'd probably cost the company money).

In this case (And I have medical evidence), would I be excused? I'll be raising it with my line manager and so forth.

Thanks

[agentzigzag]

why did you not specify this at the interview stage?

[Funk]

Was it not fairly obvious what the job would entail? I would be pretty pissed as an employer if you wangled a job and then decided you're not able to do it citing 'medical' reasons as to why not.

[siscar]

an employer must make reasonable adjustments to working arrangements to accommodate the needs of disabled employees whether that be physical or mental.

you say this is something a colleague mentioned so it sounds like it didn't come up as a requirement of the job before you were offered it and isn't that major a part of the role. Without knowing more detail it's hard to say but on the surface it sounds like it would be reasonable to expect them to exclude this from your responsibilities. Everything rests on whether that can be described as 'reasonable'.

[Scraggles]

worked in a car factory once, think it was rover. had an old injury that thought had healed, told the bosses about it and it was suggested that I should fk off

which is roughly what they said to the agency who kep bullstting me about finding me a proper job, but found it more profitable to forget about it

[Z064life]

Scraggles said:

worked in a car factory once, think it was rover. had an old injury that thought had healed, told the bosses about it and it was suggested that I should fk off

which is roughly what they said to the agency who kep bullstting me about finding me a proper job, but found it more profitable to forget about it

I'm assuming you were a practical assembly man or something? In that case, an injury will stop you from doing your prime job of building the car.

In my case, my "issues" are related to presentations but my job/job title is Developer (programming). I didn't have a job spec and I didn't get told about any presentations in the interview stage. I did mention my disability on my CV but that was it. I do also have some medical reports to back everything up (thankfully...). And yes, it didn't come up in the interview.

Edited by Z064life on Wednesday 10th June 11:05

[edc]

You use the terms "issues" and "disability" almost interchangably.

Do you actually have a disability for the purposes of Employment regulations?

With regards to reasonable adjustments or being excused from some duties, the onus is on the employer to make reasonable adjustments. That does not necessarily mean that you do not do certain tasks or duties full stop.

[Z064life]

edc said:

You use the terms "issues" and "disability" almost interchangably.

Do you actually have a disability for the purposes of Employment regulations?

With regards to reasonable adjustments or being excused from some duties, the onus is on the employer to make reasonable adjustments. That does not necessarily mean that you do not do certain tasks or duties full stop.

Apologies. I say issue because I hate saying disability (personal preference thing). I'm not actually registered as having a disability, but the authorities know (such as local health authority) about my condition.

[Firefoot]

As it didn't come up in the interview as being an integral part of the job, I would simply speak to your manager, explain what your colleague has said and explain what difficulties this may cause. A reasonable adjustment or informal arrangement can usually be sorted in these situations by an employer.
If there is more than one of you in the department, the other person could give the presentations, if it is something that could be improved upon with training, then they can invest in a course. There is usually a solution with a small hurdle such as this one.

[Deva Link]

Z064life said:

I'm not actually registered as having a disability, but the authorities know (such as local health authority) about my condition.

So you don't have an "official" disabled status?

I know in my last big corporate job, the firm was anxiously hunting for anyone who could be delcared to be disabled, so that they could meet some kind of quota. In my wife's job (she works the Government) being disabled seems to work very well for employees as they become virtually untouchable.

[edc]

Even if you are not registered as disabled it does not mean you will not be classed as disabled under DDA. If you really want clarification on disability at work and whether your 'condition' qualifies then I'd suggest you take this off-line and get some proper advice as the nuances in this area are difficult to explain in this format.

One way to read what you have written is that you do not have a disability but some sort of condition or disposition. There are a few tests to apply to ascertain whether an individual has a disability and as you can imagine this is supposed to give clarity but doesn't always.

On the face of it it doesn't sound like you have a disability as your condition doesn't give rise to a substantial adverse effect nor does it affect your ability to carry out normal day to day activities.

[Scraggles]

had a dislocated shoulder that thought had healed years ago, recall having to use a drill to secure stuff with one hand and soon enough found could not do the pressure required.

I did learn not to buy rover cars, one of the favourite expressions to a car let go too early was oh fk it, we will get it on recall...