How To Help Disability Discrimination

If you want to help with disability discrimination as a colleague rather than as a manager, the useful actions are narrower than instinct suggests, and a couple of the obvious ones make things harder.

Useful. Say what you saw, to the person, at the time. Offer to be a witness and write down what you observed while it is fresh. Ask what they want to happen rather than deciding for them. Keep including them in the ordinary things, which is often what has quietly stopped.

Not useful. Reporting it on their behalf without asking, which removes the control they have left. Speculating about their condition with others. Telling them what you would do. And going quiet around them because you are worried about saying the wrong thing.

Supporting a complaint is itself protected. Retaliation against a witness or supporter is a separate breach. The Australian Human Rights Commission handles these complaints. This is general information rather than legal advice.

See Sentrient’s equal employment opportunity course and code of conduct training.