Disability Support | Guidance for Managers | Reasonable Accommodations
Reasonable Accommodations
This guide provides line managers with information on how to manage reasonable accommodation requests from a colleague.
Management has a key role to play in making workplaces inclusive and reducing stigma around disability.
Reasonable Accommodations
What is a Reasonable Accommodation?
Under Employment Equality legislation employers are obliged to take appropriate measures to enable a person who has a disability to access and participate in employment or undertake training – unless these measures would result in a disproportionate burden for the employer. Reasonable accommodations can be defined as “effective and practical changes that the employer puts in place to enable employees with a disability to carry out their work on an equal footing with others”. Reasonable accommodations can vary from something as simple as rearranging office furniture, to providing assistive technology, or providing changes to working hours.
Examples of what may be considered a reasonable accommodation
Many successful reasonable accommodations are simple, low-cost, or even cost-free. In many cases, accommodations often involve minor adjustments rather than significant financial investments. Some simple examples of reasonable accommodations include:
- Rearranging furniture
- Changing the level of a desk
- Purchasing a piece of office equipment
- Sourcing appropriate assistive technology for use
- Adapting standard equipment
- Adjusting training materials
- Having short regular breaks or extra time to complete tasks
- Accepting that there may be alternative ways of accomplishing a given task
- Providing company information in appropriate formats
- Moving lectures/meetings to an accessible room
- Adaptations to the sensory environment where appropriate
In some cases, reasonable accommodation may involve the reassignment of duties or tasks. When considering the reassignment of duties/tasks as a form of reasonable accommodation, managers should begin by identifying the essential functions of the role and assessing which tasks may be flexible or non-essential. Reassignment of duties and tasks, particularly those that pose a barrier due to the employee’s disability, may be reasonable where it does not place a disproportionate burden on the team or the university. Any reassignment should be informed by an individualised assessment, involve consultation with the employee and People Partner, and be reviewed regularly to ensure continued appropriateness. It is also important to document any operational impact and ensure that decisions are made fairly, transparently, and in line with the principles of equality and inclusion.
Please Note: Reasonable accommodation does not include any treatment, facility or item that you might ordinarily or reasonably provide for yourself, for example; a wheelchair or reading glasses.
Managing a request for reasonable accommodation(s)
Step by Step Guide
The following are the key steps which should be taken by the line manager where an employee with a disability requests reasonable accommodation(s).
Discuss with the employee the barriers their disability places on their ability to perform duties/tasks assigned within their role. Support the employee in completing the Reasonable Accommodation Request Form and sign. The completed form will be submitted by the employee to the Disability Liaison Officer (disability.staff@dcu.ie).
The appropriate accommodation(s) may be agreed between you and the employee, but there will be times when additional support is required to ensure the appropriate accommodation(s) are being provided.
You may consider the following when deciding whether accommodations can be agreed and implemented locally or if additional support is needed:
- Cost: involves no cost, or minimal cost that can be covered by the local cost centre. If there is significant cost, or the local cost centre cannot cover the financial commitment, you can contact DCU People for support.
- Feasibility: the change does not negatively impact team performance, safety or business operations.
- Alignment to existing policies and practices: the accommodations fall within existing university policy and practices. If they do not, please consult DCU People (e.g if an employee is requesting to work remotely more often than university policy allows).
- Temporary/Trial basis: in some cases, the accommodation may be short-term, reversible or agreed on a trial basis before further assessment.
If the request seeks to alter the terms and conditions of employment, falls outside the scope of existing policies and practices, has the potential for a large financial impact, and/or has the potential to alter/impact operations of the team, it is important to seek support from DCU People in agreeing accommodations.
Similarly, if there is confusion or lack of clarity on what accommodations would be best suited for the employee, it can be brought to DCU People for consideration.
Support the employee to work with the Disability Liaison Officer and relevant People Partner to assess the request for accommodations, including consideration on whether a workplace needs assessment is necessary.
The accommodations should be agreed within three - six weeks of the reasonable accommodation request being received. In the small number of cases where this is not possible, it should be communicated to the employee and a revised timeline agreed.
Ensure agreed accommodations are implemented and escalated through the regular channels where issues arise with non-implementation.
Agree with the employee a schedule of follow up meetings to ensure that accommodations are still working for the employee and the team. This is an important step because needs of disabled employees can change over time and supports may need to be revisited. Agree how often these ‘check-in’ meetings should take place. Regular reviews are particularly important where accommodations have altered terms and conditions of employment or have made exceptions to university policy. Your People Partner can support you in these meetings, if required.
Funding for Reasonable Accommodations
If an employee’s request for accommodations is deemed reasonable, the accommodation(s) is funded by the University. In the first instance, the school or department should look to cover the cost through its local cost centre. If funding is not available through the local cost centre, you may seek advice and support from DCU People. DCU People representatives will work as facilitators with Heads of School (HoS) and Heads of Departments (HoD) and key university stakeholders (e.g DTS, Health and Safety, Estates, etc.) to identify potential appropriate funding and/or resourcing options.
The University may also look for support via external grants. Under the Reasonable Accommodation Work and Access Fund, the Department of Social Protection (DSP) can support by providing grants and schemes, including:
- the Workplace Equipment/Adaptation Grant (WEAG)
- the Personal Reader Grant (PRG)
- the Communication Support Grant
- the Employee Retention Grant (ERG)
For research employees, Research Ireland has launched a Disability Policy and Supplemental Grant that can financially support with reasonable accommodations for eligible research grant holders.