- Conference
- 2024 National Health Care Service Group Conference
- Date
- 8 December 2023
- Decision
- Carried
Conference notes that data from the NHS Workplace Disability Equality Standard (WDES) shows that 28% of disabled workers in the NHS in England still aren’t getting the reasonable adjustments they should be entitled to in order to break down the barriers they face in the workplace.
One effective way of ensuring more disabled workers in the Health service group receive the reasonable adjustments they need is for employers to adopt a ‘passport’ system to record and agree reasonable adjustments. This means that adjustments don’t need to be re-negotiated every time a member gets a new manager or moves team within their Trust or other health employer.
Conference notes that UNISON has developed a model Accessibility Passport, which can be shared with employers. Some Trusts also use titles such as Reasonable Adjustment Passport or Wellbeing Passport, for example. However, although there are a variety of reasons why employers and staff may prefer one title over another, the key is to ensure any passport is based on:
a) the legal duty for Health employers to provide “reasonable adjustments” to disabled workers as laid out in the Equality Act 2010
b) the social model of disability
c) a two week deadline for responses to reasonable adjustment requests
d) a commitment to an agreed timescale for implementing approved reasonable adjustment requests.
UNISON’s Accessibility Passport includes all of the above and should be the basis for branch negotiation.
The WDES data can be a useful way of raising these issues with NHS Trusts in England and conference notes UNISON’s WDES training is being rolled out to regional activists.
Conference calls on the Health Service group Executive to:
1) Circulate UNISON’s Reasonable Adjustments policy bargaining guide and model passport to branches and regions
2) Encourage Health branches to open negotiation with employers on adopting an accessibility passport based on the UNISON model
3) Underline the importance of negotiating for a two week deadline for responses too reasonable adjustment requests
4) Encourage branches in England to take part in the WDES training being rolled out on a regional basis .