Employing people with a disability
Cheshire East Council are committed to celebrating diversity and promoting equality as an employer. We:
- encourage applications from disabled people - we are a disability confident employer
- are positive about mental health - we are a signatory of the Mindful Employer Charter.
Disability is defined under the Equality Act 2010 as a ‘physical or mental impairment’ that has a 'substantial and long-term adverse effect on an individual’s ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities’. People with progressive conditions, and conditions or impairments that are automatically classed as a disability, are also protected by law, for example, Alzheimer’s disease or cancer. More information is available about the definition is available on the Acas website: Definition of disability - What disability means by law - Acas.
Guidance for employees
Telling your manager about your disability
You are not required by law to disclose a disability. Your manager won't be able to make any 'reasonable adjustments' for you unless you tell them.
If you are an existing employee, you could discuss your abilities during your supervision or PDR
If you are a new employee or are moving within the organisation, you could tell your manager
- at or in advance of an interview
- during induction
- or probationary review
Let you manager know from the start, once you have accepted a job. It could affect your working relationship with them If they find out later, by accident.
Advice and support
If you are a member of a trade union, you can request advice or support with regards your disability at any point.
Our Council’s Supported Employment Service provides support for unemployed people with disabilities or
For more information, see the Supported Employment page on the external Cheshire East website.
Supporting a disabled member of staff
You can discuss welfare issues in relation to disability at supervision sessions and PDR.
You should assess any risks to the employee in the workplace as a result of their disability. This will help to identify any measures needed to follow health and safety law.
For new employees, you can use the probationary reviews to discuss any reasonable adjustments (MS Word, 46KB).
Disclosure of disability information to others
A disabled employee has the right to request that you do not reveal the existence or nature of his or her disability to anyone else. But, you should explain that this may affect the range of adjustments made:
- either a reasonable adjustment has to be made in a different way
- a less satisfactory alternative reasonable adjustment is made
- or no adjustment is made
You must not pass on any disability information without written consent unless certain exceptional circumstances apply.
Exceptional circumstances
Certain exceptional circumstances may allow for the release of personal data. These include where:
- there is an immediate threat to the personal safety of the staff-member concerned, or to the safety of others
- there is a legal requirement to disclose that information (for example a crime has been committed or it is covered by Health and Safety legislation)
- where professional fitness to practice may be compromised (this will apply to a limited number of jobs where the disclosure of personal data is necessary to assess fitness to practice)
This list is not exhaustive.
Absence and disability
Managers must manage the absence of their employees in a fair and consistent manner. But, you may need to adopt a more flexible approach to the management of absence for disabled employees.
Contact Human Resources and/ or Occupational Health for additional support.
Absence triggers
Absence triggers will automatically be activated regardless of the reason for absence. Use common sense when considering if formal procedures should be applied to any employee. This is particularly the case for disabled employees.
It may be appropriate for disability related absence to be separated from other absences. But it should be looked at in conjunction with other absence when establishing an overall picture of attendance, as this will help a full discussion with the employee to take place.
Recruiting disabled people
To encourage disabled applicants to apply and have a fair chance at any aspect of the selection process, you should:
- focus on the type of work which needs to be done in the role rather than how it should be done
- remove any negative / potentially discriminatory language in adverts
- consider adjustments to tests, interview and assessments to accommodate disabled candidates’ needs
- discuss reasonable adjustments if the candidate requests this
Further resources
