DANIEL GORRY: The Inverness Courier columnist talks about long Covid in the workplace

With 164,000 Scottish people living with long-term symptoms of coronavirus, some organisations have employees who are affected.

This could involve dealing with an employee who has been absent from work for an extended period with long Covid and who feels they cannot perform all of their duties.

In severe cases, organisations might consider a medical capability dismissal.

Increasingly, there is awareness around long Covid as a condition and its debilitating impact on people’s lives. Organisations are increasingly trying to understand how to handle employees with long Covid.

Also, situations involving employees with medical conditions take time to surface and to manage, and employers may reach a critical point where the impact of the absence is not sustainable.

The recent employment tribunal decision confirming that long Covid could be classed as a disability is prompting employers to tread more carefully. Therefore, organisations should aim to support employees with long Covid by making reasonable adjustments to reduce legal risk.

Reasonable adjustments employers should make

If someone raises concerns regarding how long Covid impacts them at work or as part of a return-to-work discussion, organisations must explore their current symptoms and evaluate how this may affect them at work. For example, they may find certain aspects of their job difficult to do; therefore, they may require adjustments.

Organisations must make reasonable adjustments to help disabled employees carry out their roles effectively. This duty can arise in the following situations:

n Where a provision, criterion or practice puts a disabled person at a substantial disadvantage in comparison with persons who are not disabled.

n Where a physical feature puts a disabled person at a substantial disadvantage compared to persons who are not disabled.

n Where a disabled person would, but for the provision of an auxiliary aid, be put at a substantial disadvantage in comparison with persons who are not disabled.

Potential adjustments for those suffering from long Covid will depend on the individual’s symptoms and whether it is reasonable to adjust the job they do but standard adjustments may include: changing working hours and patterns; offering additional rest breaks; reallocating some duties to another employee; providing specialist equipment (i.e., a different desk or chair; transferring the employee into a suitable alternative post; and allowing more time off than usual during working hours permits the disabled employee to attend rehabilitation, assessment or treatment.

Organisations may identify adjustments through discussion with their employee or via information shared by their GP. For further professional guidance, refer the employee to Occupational Health.

Do you want to respond to this article? If so, click here to submit your thoughts and they may be published in print.