Disability Discrimination Act

[Jenstir75]

can anyone tell me if Endo is recognised as a disability under the DDA. I've been trying to get a transfer through my work to an office in my home town as I have a daily commute of an hour each way which I cannot physically do during my period for at least 2 of those days as I am too physically incapacitated to undertake the journey. Can anyone point me in the right direction to get info on this because I have been using my leave to cope but this isn't going to work longterm for me. My HR have turned my request down stating that they are unsure if my condition is regarded as a disability for the purposes of the DDA. Help please!!!

[KA410]

My union Rep told me that any illness that affects you for longer than a year is classed as a disability in terms of the disability discrimination act.

[Starry in reply to KA410]

The DDA has been superseded by the 2010 Equality Act. It doesn't list specific medical conditions but bases the definition on a condition of at least 12 months that significantly impairs day to day activities. gov.uk/definition-of-disabi...

[Jenstir75 in reply to Starry]

I live in Northern Ireland so DDA still applies here. HR don't think that the effect is substantial and I have been very explicit and graphic about my suffering. I just don't know how I can convince them to change their minds

[Hidden in reply to Jenstir75]

Hi HR are not impartial they are there for your work not you. Do you have union cover ?

[Jenstir75 in reply to Hidden]

I'm not a union member. I have now the option of taking a grievance against my employer but I don't even know where to start

[Hidden in reply to Jenstir75]

Hi could you join a union they could really help you? or are you in a professional body etc?

[Amshell]

It's stated on my occupation health report that I am covered by it. xx

[Marcia71]

Get HR to refer you to occupational health for an assessment. They should be able to advise you as mine did tell me it was a disability at work due to the effects.

And if you want to go down grievance - I've also had to do that - there should be info somewhere on your companies policy. Mine was on HR pages of our intranet. You generally have to take a grievance out against someone so either your boss or HR manager will need to be the person saying they won't take account of your disability.

Good luck. It's all a long and tiring process and one I really didn't enjoy.

[Jenstir75 in reply to Marcia71]

thanks I'll look up how to start the grievance procedure

[Sparkyxx9386]

Hello, it may be worth seeing your GP and requesting a letter to see whether they would medically class the effects of your conditions as qualifying under the act, if they do you can request them to write a letter stating it. Your HR department would have a hard time arguing against it if a DR has stated they confirm your condition is having a significant impact on daily activities on a regular basis as described in the act. X

[Jenstir75 in reply to Sparkyxx9386]

I've already had a couple of GP letters written and they've made no difference and I'm charged £20 per letter. I've contacted the equality commission NI for advice today so I'll wait and see what they advise. Thanks everyone for the advice 😊

[Hidden in reply to Jenstir75]

What? What kind of letter was this? why did you have to pay? I went to my GP and explained that commute was too much blablabla and I got a fit to work from home only recommendation, which HR cannot go against really. Could you work from home? That might be an option.

Otherwise, yes, you need to go via occupational health as I believe they are the ones who can influence HR.💪👍🎗

[Starry]

Good luck Jen. X x

[MaryLou11]

Hi Jenstir,

I know your post is now 10 months old, but I wanted to share my experience.

I'm also in NI and went though something similar with my employer. I asked to be referred to occupational health for an assessment and they said right away it would be classed as a disability due to it being a longterm condition that has a significant effect on day to day activities. As a result my employer has agreed to disregard sick days related to the condition.

I hope you had a good outcome too x

[Jenstir75 in reply to MaryLou11]

Hi MaryLou11. Thanks for sharing. After much fighting I did get on the priority pool for a move to an office closer to home and as luck would have it a few weeks later a specialist post came up in my home town. I had to apply for it through normal channels but got the job on my own merit so after all that I didn't need the help of the DDA. I've been back working in my home town for a month now and it's made such a difference mentally and physically. I'm having a hysterectomy this Thursday so looking forward to a bit of normality once I recuperate from that.