Disability and work: Key considerations

However, deciding whether someone is disabled is not always straightforward and will involve medical evidence and applying the test from section 6 of the Equality Act 2010. 

This defines a disability as a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to perform normal day-to-day activities. If you have an employee you think may be disabled, it is important to consider the position carefully, seeking legal advice where necessary. We would also highlight the following key points for employers to consider and be aware of where this issue arises: 

Impact of Medication Is Ignored:

When assessing disability, you must ignore the effects of medication, including things like counselling and special diets.

The only exception is sight correction. Separate rules say anyone certified as blind, severely sight impaired, or partially sighted by an eye specialist are automatically considered disabled.

Certain conditions are excluded, such as addictions:

Addictions to alcohol, nicotine, or other substances (unless medically prescribed), seasonal allergies like hay fever (unless they worsen another condition), and tendencies to set fires, steal, abuse others, exhibit, or spy on people are all excluded conditions and therefore do not count as disabilities.

Some Conditions are automatically deemed to be disabilities, including:

Conditions like cancer, HIV, and multiple sclerosis are considered disabilities from the moment they’re diagnosed.

Past Disabilities can be protected: 

Even if someone is no longer disabled but met the criteria in the past, they can still claim disability discrimination if they're treated unfairly because of their past condition. This also applies if they’re still experiencing effects from past treatments. 

Progressive Conditions:

For progressive conditions (such as dementia or motor neurone disease), the person is considered disabled as soon as the condition starts to affect their daily activities, even if the effect isn’t continuous or substantial yet. It’s enough if it’s likely to become substantial in the future.

Being aware of these points can help employers to better navigate the process of determining if an employee is disabled and ensure they meet their legal obligations. Please contact us if you require any advice about these issues or reasonable adjustments in the workplace.