On employment:
The Equality Act which was introduced in 1 October 2010, replaced most of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA), but the Disability Equality Duty in the DDA continues to apply. Under the Act, a person is disabled if they have a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.
As before, the Act puts a duty on you as an employer to make reasonable adjustments for your staff to help them overcome disadvantage resulting from an impairment. The Act also includes a new provision which makes it unlawful, except in certain circumstances, for employers to ask about a candidates health before offering them a job.
AWL Occupational Health Services can provide advice in relation to health assessment of new employees, from screening of questionnaires to discussions with the individual either face to face or on the telephone about any underlying health problem or disability they may have. We can then advise you, the employer, whether the health status of the employee meets the demands of the job, whether you may have a need to consider making reasonable adjustments to accommodate any needs under disability legislation either now or in the future, alternatively if the employee has a health condition that may be made worse by the job and what control measures may be required. If you would like details of how we may be able to help you, including costs, then please do contact us.