St Mary’s University is committed to supporting applicants, in addition to new and existing members of staff.
St Mary’s University is a supportive employer and we want to fulfil our duty of care for both new applicants and existing members of staff. The University also takes reasonable steps to ensure we are compliant with equality and diversity legislation and regulations.
This information provides some examples of our processes. It is not a comprehensive guide to every situation, however, it will help you understand our general approach.
Reasonable adjustments are changes that the University can make to remove, or reduce, a disadvantage related to a staff member’s disability.
This may involve:
- a change to an employee’s working arrangements
- a special chair to help reduce back problems
- a phased return to work after an illness
- a ramp for wheelchair use
- a designated car park space
- a special key board to use because of arthritis.
You and your line manager will discuss your requirements and agree on what may be reasonable in each individual circumstance. As part of the process, it may be necessary to seek medical advice from the University’s Occupational Health provider.
The University must consider making reasonable adjustments if you disclose a disability, whether you already work for the University or whether you are applying for a job here.
We will consider this criteria when assessing what reasonable adjustments are.
- Do we need to change how we do things?
- Do we need to change the workplace physically?
- Do we need to provide extra equipment or ask an expert to assist the staff member in some way?
Please note that the University is not required to change the basic nature of the job, however, where there is a reasonable adjustment cost, this will be paid for by the department. In collaboration with you, we may talk to external organisations who are able to help with the cost, such as Access to Work.
The University has a legal duty to make reasonable adjustments. However, sometimes a change will be unreasonable and we can lawfully decide not to make a change. We will use this criteria to decide whether a change is unreasonable.
- Is the change practical to make?
- Do we have the resources to pay for the adjustment?
- Will the change be effective in overcoming or reducing the disadvantage in the workplace?
- Will the adjustment have an impact on the health and safety of others?
The reasonable adjustments process
Monitoring
The University will record and monitor the reasonable adjustments that have been requested and made. This will allow us to review the services we provide, and help us identify whether there are any wider steps that we can take to improve our services.
Contact
If you have any questions about reasonable adjustments, please email HR.