Case study 12: Helping people return to work
The employee has rheumatoid arthritis, which has significant impact on the majority of daily activities due to reduced upper limb function and general mobility. The employee went on sick leave due to the arthritis and Minty & Friend became involved 9 months later.
How Minty & Friend helped
- Minty & Friend have supported the client's case handler in achieving the employee's return to work 2 months after Minty and Friend got involved, as part of the Quality Solutions Team.
- Due to changes in the employee's impairment Minty & Friend have co-ordinated an additional ‘Access to Work' assessment which has provided recommendation and funding for reasonable adjustment requirements including voice recognition software and specialist seating.
- Voice recognition software training has been organised which will provide further confirmation of the scope of the software within the organisation's systems.
Learning points
- During the time that the employee was waiting for reasonable adjustments to be arranged before returning to work the employee has taken holiday accrued whilst on sick leave.This case highlights the need for a Reasonable Adjustment Absence policy to provide effective management of individuals off work for solely for adjustment needs.
- Contact issues - case may be heading for tribunal due partly to inconsistency of contact whilst on sick leave. Since their involvement Minty & Friend have played a key role in maintaining regular contact and providing support.
- Redeployment issues - challenges of locating ‘off-line' duties in the call centre environment.
Benefits to the client
- Avoidance of further costs being incurred as a result of the employee returning to work.
- The client is aware of the need for a Reasonable Adjustment Absence Policy to avoid a recurrence.
