Case Study: ‘Implementing Reasonable Adjustments’

Case studies from subscribers

We support school staff in England and Wales with a wide range of employment-related issues in schools.These range from clarification with employment contracts, PPA time, job references to allegations from pupils, dismissal from role to employment tribunals and Teaching and Regulation Agency hearings. This article discusses identifying and implementing reasonable adjustments.

Below, we highlight the types of questions and situations teachers contact us about. We have removed specific details about the cases and the actual names of subscribers for confidentiality reasons. You can also read our latest reviews from our subscribers on TrustPilot.

Case Study: ‘Implementing Reasonable Adjustments’

Case Headlines

Brian works in a small rural primary school as a support member of staff. He has been there a number of years and is a relatively experienced colleague. He has a disability that the school is aware of and this makes some events in the school day for Brian hard to quickly process. A recent chain of events led to some absence from school. He was worried that without support he would struggle to return which would create a protracted absence from work.

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In the first discussions with his Caseworker, Brian explained he loved his job and the school and that he felt a valued member of staff. However, his disability placed him in situations where short notice changes to routines, alterations to arrangements and fast moving events left him feeling overwhelmed. He was worried that the school would find it a challenge to work with him to find a way to get him to return to work successfully through making reasonable adjustments.

How did Edapt support?

The first stage was to ensure there was a good understanding of the disability and the impact on Brian and his description of the impact on the employer. His Caseworker spent time understanding what had been put in place previously, along with the things that hadn’t.  

Whilst an Occupational Health report had been arranged previously this was a while ago and recommendations at the time had been considered and implemented in part. In discussion with Brian it was agreed he would ask for another Occupational Health appointment to be referred through the school to support his return. 

His Caseworker discussed with him the adjustments he would see as reasonable and the barriers he could potentially see to his return. This pre-appointment planning discussion helped him frame his approach to the Occupational Health appointment to ensure the information he gave was accurate, relevant and aided explaining the barriers he felt he had.

After the report was released, preparations with the Caseworker helped Brian set himself for a discussion with the employer. The employer was supportive but Brian was anxious both about the meeting and how to best articulate the adjustments he felt may be needed that were reflected in the report.  The discussions with his Caseworker allowed Brian to go into the meeting with his priorities, understanding that the employer would find it hard to accommodate some of the recommendations included in the report.

Brian agreed a timescale and phased return along with some immediate adjustments and plans to look at further ones in time. Additional discussions with his Caseworker helped arrange ”stage post’ meetings along the way for review and check in with the school during his phased return.

The Outcome

Brian was worried that the school would ‘just expect him back’ or feared that they would say ‘he couldn’t do his job’. Whilst these were understandable fears the support from Edapt allowed him to prioritise his needs, articulate what was needed and so discuss practicalities for a supported return when initially it seemed overwhelming. 

A phased return was successful and adjustments made have made all the difference to Brian and the school has their valued employee back at work.

Find out more about the service we provide at Edapt: https://www.edapt.org.uk/