Equality: Fair Work

Taking Fair Work Forward

Week 3a: Reasonable adjustments and long Covid

Welcome back to Taking Fair Work Forward – a learning course on emerging issues, for EIS equality rep. In this course, we wanted to link in key learning on equality issues, with current matters affecting education.

About this week

Reasonable adjustments are an essential right in the pursuit of Fair Work for disabled workers.

In this week’s learning, you will be able to reflect on the importance of reasonable adjustments, consider some of the challenges that may exist, and how to overcome them.

This week’s expert is Sally Witcher, freelance trainer and former Chief Executive of Inclusion Scotland.

This Weeks Topics

1. Introduction: The social model of disability

What is the social model of disability?

Learning points

  • The medical model says the problem is the person; the social model says that it’s social barriers like other people’s attitudes about disabled people, inaccessible buildings, transport and communication methods, and the inflexible ways things like services, education and employment are organised.
  • The solution is to adjust the way society and its institutions operate, and remove barriers. It is not a medical condition or impairment that disables people, but society’s failure to accommodate people with impairments.
  • Social barriers are not usually put in place deliberately, but if you don’t have lived experience of confronting them, they aren’t always easy to see. That’s why involving people with that lived experience in designing inclusive policy and practice is very important.

Reflective question

Think about the different elements to your day, from you wake up, got to work, come home and until you go to bed. What are points in your day you can move through with ease. What are other aspects of your day that feels like they are more cumbersome? Do you think these are the same for others, and how might they be different for a disabled person?

The EIS recognises and values the many contributions of disabled people in our schools, colleges, universities and Trade Union. Also, the EIS recognises the insight and experience disabled workers can bring to their establishments, particularly at a time when a growing number of learners are being identified as having additional support needs. It can be valuable for learners, whether disabled or not, to see disabled adults thrive in their jobs, and that educational establishments can be inclusive environments for all.

Unfortunately, disabled workers continue to experience barriers to their fair and equitable participation at work, and the realisation of their rights to reasonable adjustments. Neither education systems, nor workplaces are designed with disabled people in mind, which puts disabled workers at substantial disadvantages compared to others in the workplace. To level the playing field, it is essential that reasonable adjustments are implemented effectively, and respectfully.

Archive Material

View our archived material on Fair-Work within Scotland’s education system

View Archive