Access ramps and more: how to support disabled colleagues at work during coronavirus

Now that people are returning to work after lockdown, things may have changed within the office environment. Making a place of work Covid safe will affect all employees, but changes made to the physical environment can be particularly challenging for disabled people. The UK Government has put guidance in place for employers, outlining reasonable adjustments for employees. These include specifications such as the use of temporary access ramps and providing extra equipment. Read on for more advice.

Using equipment such as access ramps to overcome physical barriers

Due to measures put in place to make an office Covid secure, it may be necessary to install new equipment. For example, as a result of social distancing measures, a wheelchair user may be relocated to a temporary office. Due to this, it may be necessary to install access ramps to make the temporary office accessible. Another example could be that an employee who uses voice-assisted technology requires it be installed at their home.

It’s important to think ahead when making physical changes and being aware of how they might impact disabled people. It is better to anticipate a problem and making necessary adjustments, rather than fixing a problem after it has occured.

Changing the ways things are done in response to Covid-19

UK equality law talks about disabled employees being put at a significant disadvantage by a provision or practice of their employer. To overcome this, an employer must be prepared to make changes to the way things are usually done. An example of this could be a company that has a policy of only giving parking spaces to senior staff changing that policy to make a space available for a disabled employee. In terms of coronavirus, such a change might be suggesting that a staff member who is self-isolating due to their disability or health condition if they want to change or swap roles to one more suited to working from home. The employee would need to agree that they are not disadvantaged due to the change.

Providing extra equipment to help a disabled person do their job

It is necessary for employers to provide disabled people with extra equipment that enables them to do their job. The same rules apply now that we are dealing with the pandemic and workplaces need to be made Covid secure. For example, an employee who needs voice-activated software may be working from home and it is necessary for them to use their own laptop. The employer would need to agree to pay for the software to be installed. Another example is that the employer reserves a car parking space for a disabled employee so they can travel to work without using public transport. This puts them at less risk of being unable to socially distance on public transport, therefore allowing them to get to work safely.