New TUC and GMB passports will help 116,000 disabled people in the North West get the support they need at work

Lynn Collins, Regional Secretary of the North West Trade Union Congress

The TUC and the GMB are today, Monday 25 February, launching a new disability passport to help nearly one million (946,010) disabled people who fall out of work or switch employers each year to get the support they need.

Disabled people can leave their jobs for many reasons.

One preventable reason is when employers fail to carry out their legal duty to make, and keep in place, the reasonable adjustments their disabled staff need to do their jobs.

With one in 10 (390,820) disabled people dropping out of work and one in seven (555,190) finding new employment every year, the TUC and the GMB believe it is vital to find a more successful and unified way of agreeing and recording what modifications need to be put in place.

So, the TUC and the GMB have produced a model reasonable adjustments employer agreement, for reps to agree with their employer, and a template reasonable adjustments passport, to capture what adjustments have been put in place to eliminate barriers in the workplace.

These adjustments could include:

• providing specially adapted equipment (like a chair, desk or computer),
• temporarily changing the duties of the job,
• changing break times or working patterns,
• allowing flexible working or time off for medical appointments.

When the adjustments are agreed, the passport is signed by everyone.

The document can be reviewed at regular intervals and means disabled people don’t have to explain their requirements every time their line manager changes, or they change roles within their organisation.

TUC Regional Secretary Lynn Collins said: “Disabled people face many barriers when it comes to finding good, rewarding jobs. Employers must do more to make the reasonable adjustments they need.

“Disabled workers live with the constant threat of losing their reasonable adjustments every time their boss or job changes.

“The TUC and the GMB’s passport is an ideal place to officially and clearly record what adjustments have been agreed, so disabled workers aren’t going back to the starting line every time they get a new manager or role.”