Give disabled people the right to work from home after Covid-19, says UNISON
Disabled employees working from home during lockdown say they have been more productive and took fewer days off sick than when they were doing their jobs in the office, according to a survey published today (Wednesday) by UNISON.
The union is now calling on the government to give disabled people a new right to work from home if they wish and for employers to face penalties if they don’t comply.
Disabled employees should have the right under equality laws* to ‘reasonable adjustments’ to reduce the effect of their disability, says UNISON.
This includes working from home, but UNISON has been told by workers that many employers argue this doesn’t count as a reasonable change to their employment arrangements.
Figures released by the union, based on responses from more than 4,000 disabled workers across the UK, show that half worked from home during the Covid-19 crisis. This is a huge increase on the one in twenty (5%) who say they usually do this.
Workers responding to the survey are providing public services in education, local government, the NHS, police service and energy, and employed in the public, voluntary and private sectors.
The survey found that nearly three quarters (73%) of disabled staff felt they were more productive or as productive working from home compared to their pre-lockdown place of work.
More than half (54%) felt they would benefit from w...
Source: UNISON Health care news - Category: UK Health Authors: Sophie Goodchild Tags: News Press release disability home working guide Source Type: news
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