- Conference
- 2023 National Black Members’ Conference
- Date
- 30 September 2022
- Decision
- Carried
Conference notes that many employers still refuse to accept a worker is disabled and entitled to reasonable adjustments unless their impairment is obvious. However many impairments are not immediately apparent. Black people disproportionately experience impairments such as lupus, diabetes and sickle cell and thalassemia which are impairments that aren’t always obvious to other people.
Some of these impairments also fluctuate, which employers can find hard to understand or accept.
Conference notes that the Equality Act 2010 provides protection for disabled people and that a disabled person is someone who has a physical or mental impairment that has lasted or is likely to last 12 months or more and has a substantial (more than trivial) adverse effect on their normal day to day activities. This includes impairments which are non-apparent and those that are fluctuating.
Conference has previously noted the disproportionate impact of long Covid on Black workers. This can also be a non-apparent and fluctuating impairment. UNISON is clear that in many cases our members will already meet the definition of a disabled person in the Equality Act 2010 and are entitled to reasonable adjustments.
Conference believes that it is important our stewards are fully aware of the impact of non-apparent and fluctuating impairments on Black disabled members. UNISON’s National Disabled Members Committee have produced a variety of resources to help with this including:
1)Our ‘Proving Disability and Reasonable Adjustments’ guide which can help stewards to successfully make the case that Black members with non-apparent and fluctuating impairments are disabled people and are entitled to reasonable adjustments;
2)Our ‘Stewards Guide to Representing Disabled Members’ – and our companion guide for representing Deaf members;
3)Our new guide to Access to Work which can help pay for the support some of our Black disabled members need in the workplace.
It is also important that branches seek to negotiate disability equality policies with the employer to reduce the risk of Black workers being denied reasonable adjustments due to racism. Having standard policies can help ensure Black disabled workers get the rights and protections they are entitled to. Again, UNISON has resources that can help branches with this including:
a)Our Disability Leave Bargaining Guide and Model Policy;
b)Our Reasonable Adjustments Bargaining guide which contains a model policy and a template “passport”.
Conference therefore calls on the National Black Members Committee to work with the National Disabled Members Committee to:
i)Seek opportunities to emphasise the rights of Black disabled workers with non-apparent and fluctuating impairments and to encourage branches and regions to do so;
ii)Circulate UNISON’s disability equality resources to regional Black Members groups;
iii)Circulate UNISON’s Guide to Supporting Members with long Covid to regional Black Members groups.