1) Does Devon County Council (DCC) have a current reasonable adjustments policy? Please provide a copy of this.
DCC does not have a policy relating specifically to reasonable adjustments. However, guidance for managers regarding reasonable adjustments is contained within our Managing Sickness Absence Policy
2) Does DCC proactively promote reasonable adjustments for their employees? How do they do this?
Yes. DCC’s Human Resources service provides advice to managers regarding absence, ill-health and employees with disabilities. Advice includes putting reasonable adjustments in place where appropriate. DCC also has an Occupational Health provider where advice on reasonable adjustments is provided where appropriate.
3) Do all managers receive training regarding reasonable adjustments and how they should be implemented and for whom?
DCC provides a suite of learning called Essentials for Managers which is aimed at all staff who hold a management, leadership or supervisory role. This includes a module called Managing Absence which has a section on Reasonable Adjustments. This outlines when reasonable adjustments should be considered and gives examples of reasonable adjustments.
4) How many staff are currently employed by DCC? How many of these are receiving reasonable adjustments?
Currently 5053 employees are employed by DCC (this figure excludes staff employed in schools). We are unable to provide a figure of how many staff within DCC are receiving reasonable adjustments as we do not hold this data.
5) Does DCC’s reasonable adjustments policy extend to recruitment and selection of staff? How is this implemented?
DCC recognises it’s duty under the Equality Act 2010 to ensure that reasonable adjustments are made to any aspect of the Recruitment process that places disabled applicants at a substantial disadvantage. This is considered at the shortlisting, interview, and appointment stages. Guidance is available to managers regarding this.