If you are struggling with employment you might find it helpful to obtain a copy of our new MEA booklet that covers all aspects, including legal ones and the way that ME/CFS is covered by both the Disability Discrimnination Act and the 2010 Equality Act, of employment and occupational health in ME/CFS
MEA booklet on employment:
http://www.meassociation.org.uk/shop/management-leaflets/employment-advice/
If you are a member of the MEA we have a solicitor who is willing to provide some preliminary legal advice at no charge
From the section on Employment and the Law
8 EMPLOYMENT AND THE LAW
8.1 The (1995) Disability Discrimination Act (DDA)
The DDA was brought in to provide disabled people with legal rights relating to a number of important areas, including employment. Several people with ME/CFS have made use of this legislation and helped to establish that the DDA could apply to people with ME/CFS. The first case involved O’Neill vs Symm and Company Limited – where Dr Shepherd provided expert medical opinion. Details can be found by entering the case names on google.
In relation to employment, the various parts of the DDA meant that employers had to make reasonable adjustments to employment conditions to accommodate the needs of a disabled employee.
8.2 The (2010) Equalities Act (EA) is an important piece of legislation that combines, stengthens and replaces previous discrimination legislation, including the 1995 DDA.
A person is disabled under the act if he or she has a physical or mental impairment (ME/CFS can be classed as physical or mental) which has a substantial (where the focus should be on what the person cannot do) and long term (i.e having lasted, or likely to last for 12 months or more) adverse effect on his or her ability to carry out normal day to day activities.
ME/CFS is listed in section A6 as a specific condition covered by the Equality Act but each case will depend on the particular facts involved in the case. There is, in fact, no need for a person to establish a medically diagnosed cause for their impairment. What is important is the effect of the impairment – not the precise cause.
In relation to employment, this means that employers have to make reasonable adjustments (which will depend on the size of the employer, disruption, cost involved etc) to employment conditions to accommodate the needs of a disabled employee.
A good employer should be willing to make any necessary and reasonable adjustments.
A bad employer may not be willing to recognise ME/CFS and make any adjustments. This may then lead to a situation where dismissal is threatened due to incapacity to do the job – in which case, in legal terms, this may be regarded as unfair dismissal or constructive dismissal (if someone leaves voluntarily). See next section for more information. If you find yourself in this situation you must take urgent and professional legal advice.
Reasonable adjustments and modifications to the working environment could include any of the following:
◦adjusting equipment, e.g installing speech browser software onto a computer
◦providing a reader
◦providing supervision, e.g a mentor or support worker
◦modifying equipment, e.g a specifically designed chair
◦modifying reference manuals, e.g providing oral instructions as an alternative to written instructions
◦altering working hours to give a later or early start or longer lunch break
◦allocating duties to another member of staff
◦transferring a disabled member of staff to fill an existing vacancy, e.g a sales representative who has to give up driving could be transferred to an office-based vacancy
◦assigning a different place of work, e.g allowing home working during a period of rehabilitation
◦allowing time off for rehabilitation or medical treatment
◦adjusting premises or equipment, e.g the direction a door opens to allow for a wheelchair user
Dr Charles Shepherd
Hon Medical Adviser, MEA