We provide a full range of support for disabled staff at the university. A number of policies and initiatives specifically for disabled staff aim to reduce barriers, monitor the staff experience and help us to achieve equity.
The University of Nottingham is a registered Disability Confident Committed (Level 1) employer. Our commitments include offering an interview to applicants with a disability who meet the minimum essential requirements of the role, anticipating and providing reasonable adjustments as and when required, and providing support to any existing employee who becomes disabled or acquires a long-term health condition.
To support staff and managers in discussing, agreeing and recording reasonable adjustments, the university offers a reasonable adjustment passport. This is a live record of adjustments agreed between the staff member and their line manager. The purpose of the passport is to ensure there is a clear record of the agreed adjustments, to reduce the need to re-assess adjustments as a result of changes to a staff member’s job or line manager, and to act as a template for conversations about current and future adjustments. For more information, please read the Reasonable adjustment passport – Guide for staff and managers. For a printable version of the passport, click here.
We also offer a toolkit for supporting disabled staff which provides an introduction to disability, mandatory training on staff equality and case studies, guidance and support to make reasonable adjustments.
The Equality Act 2010
The Equality Act 2010 defines a disabled person as someone who:
- has a physical or mental impairment
- the impairment has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on the person's ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities
The definition of disability not only refers to people who may be visibly disabled, for example those who are blind or have mobility difficulties, like wheelchair users. It also includes a broad range of conditions like Depression, Diabetes, Dyslexia, Asperger's Syndrome, Cancer, Multiple Sclerosis, HIV and Schizophrenia. Disabled people are protected from discrimination under this Act.
Support and Useful Information
Disabled staff can seek support through a number of channels. For peer support, staff can contact the Disabled Staff Network.
For support in your role, contact your line manager in the first instance. Line managers and staff in need of support may also find it helpful to review our equality and diversity policies or to contact the HR Employment Relations Team.
There may be times when you need to be absent from work for rehabilitation, assessment or treatment relating to disability, or times when an impairment results in some sickness absence, and we aim to support you in this. You can view guidance on provisions for disability leave and disability-related sickness absence in the Sickness Absence Management Policy and Procedure. The University also has a variety of resources around health and wellbeing.
Accessibility
Parking
Blue Badge holders can park in any of the marked disabled car parking bays on campus. If you come onto campus regularly then you can also register your car with the University by emailing parking@nottingham.ac.uk. The UK government’s Blue Badge scheme has recently been extended to include people with hidden disabilities –find out if you are eligible for a Blue Badge here.
Campus:
Information for students
Information for staff
University of Nottingham AccessAble guides