disability equity a south african perspective 4

Disability Equity

Reasonable Accommodation

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Defining Reasonable Accommodation

• All designated employers under the Act and Code, "should reasonably accommodate the needs of people with disabilities

• This is both a non-discrimination and an affirmative action requirement

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Defining Reasonable Accommodation

• Accommodation, which are:• Modifications or alterations to the

way a job is normally performed, to make it possible for a suitably qualified person with a disability to perform as everyone else.

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Type of Accommodation

• The type of reasonable accommodation required would depend on the job and its essential functions, the work environment and the person’s specific impairment.

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Examples

A call centre consultant with a physical disability has difficulty typing with his/her hands at great speed.

At minimal cost to the employer, the consultant is allowed to type with a mouth stick or use voice input/outputdepending on preference, both of which allow the consultant to fall within the acceptable typing speed range.

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Examples

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Examples

A radio broadcaster/announcer who is blind is required to read the news wire material.

The employer purchased a high speed Braille printer that allowed the news wire material to be read by theannouncer

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Examples

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Examples

An administrative assistant in a government department has a physical disability that causes difficulty with filing andcarrying heavy reports on an occasional basis.

Accommodation included reallocating these non-essential tasks to the other team members, while the employeeconcentrates on doing the essential job functions.

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Examples

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Examples

A bookkeeper who is deaf cannot speak on the telephone.

At no cost to the employer, the bookkeeper’s colleagues were sensitized to the disability. The bookkeepercommunicates via email, faxes or written messages with colleagues. Some colleagues have opted to learn basicSign Language. On rare occasions, when required for client or staff meetings, an interpreter is retained on aconsulting basis by the firm.

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Examples

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Examples

A control room operator has epilepsy.

At no cost to the employer, colleagues are sensitized to the operator’s disability. Team members are trained on howto assist the operator during a seizure at an acceptable medical standard and arrangements are made to ensurethat someone is always available when the need arises.

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Examples

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Examples

A highly skilled and competent call centre manager with a physical disability has difficulty opening doors around thepremises.

When the company was in a position to purchase and design their new offices, the call centre manager wasconsulted and care was taken to provide an accessible building with several features as an accommodativemeasure.

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Examples

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Criteria for Reasonable Accommodation

• First, the accommodation must remove the barriers to performing the job for a person who is otherwise qualified

• Secondly, it must allow the person with a disability to enjoy equal access to the benefits and opportunities of employment

• Thirdly, employers can adopt the most cost-effective means

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Defining Unjustifiable Hardship

• "Unjustifiable hardship’ is action that requires significant or considerable difficulty or expense. This involves considering, amongst other things, the effectiveness of the accommodation and the extent to which it would seriously disrupt the operation of the business."

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Johan Kotze – Head of Group Insurance Old Mutual, in HR

Future• Many employers mistakenly believe that such

accommodation for persons with disabilities is expensive. In a recent American study of 778 employers, it was found that:

• In 50.5% of cases, reasonable accommodation was done at no cost; In 42% of cases, there was an average once-off cost equal to 1.25% of the employee’s annual salary; andIn 7.5% of the cases, there was an average annual cost equal to 1% of the employee’s annual salary.

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