On 5 September 2024, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) published new guidance aimed at helping employers support disabled workers in hybrid working environments. This comprehensive guidance targets managers and leaders and provides them with practical tips, conversation prompts, and case studies covering recruitment and employment processes. The guidance comes as hybrid working models have become standard in many workplaces. Ensuring that they work effectively for all employees, including disabled workers, is crucial.
The Benefits and Challenges
The EHRC’s guidance acknowledges that hybrid working can offer numerous benefits to disabled employees. For instance, it can enable workers to manage their health and well-being better, offering flexibility that suits their individual needs. However, the guidance also highlights potential challenges that poorly designed hybrid working models can pose. Issues like lack of inclusion, isolation from colleagues, or inadequate access to the necessary support and equipment can hinder a disabled worker’s ability to thrive in their role.
Key Areas of Focus
The guidance addresses several important topics in detail, including:
- The legal framework surrounding reasonable adjustments in employment: Employers are reminded of their duty to make reasonable adjustments to accommodate disabled workers, ensuring that they are not at a disadvantage in recruitment or day-to-day work.
- How to identify when adjustments may be needed: It is not always immediately clear when a worker or job applicant may require reasonable adjustments. The guidance provides strategies for identifying these situations through open and supportive conversations.
- Identifying barriers to effective hybrid working: Recognising potential challenges, such as technological barriers or issues with workspace configurations, is essential for creating a more inclusive environment.
- How to implement and review adjustments: The EHRC emphasises the importance of not only implementing appropriate adjustments but also regularly reviewing their effectiveness to ensure that they continue to meet the worker’s needs.
- Creating inclusive and accessible working environments: This includes making the physical workspace, technology, and office culture more inclusive, ensuring that disabled workers feel fully supported.
Types of Adjustments in Hybrid Setups
Additionally, the guidance explores various types of adjustments that may be necessary for disabled workers in a hybrid working setup. These include:
- Digital support and IT equipment: For example, providing specialist software or large monitors for workers with visual impairments to improve their ability to work remotely.
- Furniture and workspace adaptations: Ensuring that workers with musculoskeletal conditions have access to ergonomic furniture both at home and in the office.
- Online and hybrid meeting protocols: Simple adjustments, such as enabling live captions during virtual meetings or using accessibility checkers on shared presentations, can greatly improve the inclusiveness of digital meetings for workers with hearing or visual impairments.
Case Studies Highlighting Effective Adjustments
The guidance also provides case studies that showcase real-world examples of adjustments made to hybrid working arrangements. One case involves adjusting the working pattern of an employee with depression, allowing them to work in the office 60% of the time instead of the standard 40%, as too much remote work was negatively impacting his mental health. Other examples include providing dedicated desks with specialist equipment for workers with musculoskeletal conditions and allocating quieter workspaces for autistic employees who find noisy environments overwhelming.
The Role of Employers
Although the EHRC guidance is non-binding, it serves as an invaluable resource for employers, helping them navigate the complexities of hybrid working while ensuring that disabled workers are fully supported. By implementing the recommended practices, companies can foster a more inclusive, flexible, and accessible work environment, benefiting both disabled employees and the wider workforce.
