Example Of Disability Discrimination At Work

An example of disability discrimination at work that appears repeatedly involves no refusal at all.

An employee asks for an adjustment. Modified hours, different equipment, a change to how a task is done. The manager says they will look into it. Nothing happens. The employee asks again a month later. It goes to HR, then to procurement, then back.

Eventually the person stops asking, works around it, and their performance suffers in a way that later gets raised with them.

Nobody made a decision, and that is the problem. An adjustment request needs an answer, a reason if it is declined, and a record. Unjustifiable hardship is a real concept, and it has to be assessed and explained rather than used as a reason for silence.

The Australian Human Rights Commission publishes guidance on adjustments. This is general information rather than legal advice, and obligations vary by state and territory.

See Sentrient’s disability awareness training and HR management system.