Department of Public Service EH

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Department of Public ServiceEHW and DM
Indaba21-23 October 2007COMMISSION 5

• REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION

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Input by Resource Person Mr. Benny
Palime(OSDP, The Presidency)

• How is reasonable accommodation achieved?
• Through having a Legislation
• Through putting in place a policy
• By ensuring practical measures are designed and
  put in place

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International Perspective

• Defined in the UN Convention on the Rights of
  People with Disabilities

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South African Perspective

• The Constitution, Act 108 of 1996
• The Employment Equity Act, No 55 of 1998
• Technical Assistance Guidelines on Employment of
  People with Disabilities Dept of Labour
• Code of Good Practice on the Employment of People
  with Disabilities Dept of Labour
• The JobACCESS Strategic Framework and the
  Implementation Guidelines DPSA
• The Handbook on Reasonable Accommodation for
  People with Disabilities in the Public Service
  Workplace DPSA
• - Necessary adjustments provision for
  Braille material, signage, etc
• Setting reasonable targets to make workplace
  compliant
• Public Sector to lead by example and therefore
  best practice
• Look at Public Service critically how do we
  assist to implement
• Amending HR Policies e.g. retention strategies,
  conditions of employment (such as sick leave
  policies)

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Challenges and Opportunities

• Can we increase out intake while making
  adjustments
• Whether we are able to provide assistive devices
  and care and assistance
• Can we make compliant adjustments which are
  sustainable
• Make necessary policy adjustments e.g. transport
  policy

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Discussions from the Commission

• What is the employers obligation in providing
  reasonable accommodation for employees with
  disabilities
• As employers we need to find out the needs of
  employees
• Practicalize the budget employer to budget
  for number of persons targeted for makes it
  easier when recruitment occurs
• The Commission finds it unacceptable that the
  commission venue was on the second floor which
  actually provides barriers to effective
  participation. Delegates with disabilities were
  inconvenienced by the venue location. People
  needed to be informed that a lift was available
  which many delegates did not know was there. We
  need to avoid the back door approach which is
  usual practice
• Burden for making provisions for the reasonable
  accommodation for employees with disabilities
  lies with employer it is simple that is to
  enable people with disabilities to live DECENT
  LIVES

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How do we balance reasonable accommodation
without causing undue hardship to the employer,
yet making facilities and devices available for
persons with disabilities?

• Can assistive devices move with an employee
  across departments or within the Public Service?
  we need to look at this issue.
• We need to look at the issue of employees being
  able to use their assistive devices for private
  use
• Each department need to budget for purchasing
  assistive
• Should ensure that in making our built
  environment accessible, the employer is not
  unduly put through unreasonable hardships but
  that rather when we build such facilities in the
  first instance, we need to make such buildings
  accessible, particularly within the design plans
  itself.

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CONT.

• All employees deserve equal treatment and
  equality to opportunities at the workplace
  change the way we look at people with
  disabilities as being different from employees
  that are able bodied and
• We require zero budgeting in government
• Disabilities incurred on duty may result in not
  being able to continue in the same employment
  e.g. department of defence we need to decide how
  to handle this.
• Problems with assistive devices do not
  necessarily translate into sick leave education
  needed.
• Some disabilities require special accommodation
  in terms of time we need to look at flexibility
  in this regard
• Structural design of government used buildings
  may not

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Current practices regarding reasonable
accommodation in the Public Service and
recommendations to the Public service as the
employer

• Practice is not uniform across PS in terms of
  official transport of / for people with
  disabilities (use of official vehicle,
  particularly regarding if the person with
  disabilities is unlicensed but cannot get someone
  else to drive for them, etc).
• HR Practices
• Managers tool Kit for managing disability in the
  workplace
• Rebate on assistive devices
• Does GEMS look at the issue of assistive devices
  within their medical aid scheme
• Public Service must go back to decided cases (in
  courts) and ensure that we comply with these
  cases to meet reasonable accommodation.
• We need to look at the issue of stereotypes and
  remove these barriers.
• Use the case management approach to looking at
  each reasonable accommodation can be enhanced
  if we as government depts change our attitudes.
• Include organised labour into these processes.