Offering a trial period in a new role may be a reasonable adjustment for a disabled employee unable to carry out their original role. The EAT has ruled that there is no need for there to be a minimum chance of success in the trial before it can be deemed a reasonable adjustment. It will not be a defence that the employer genuinely considered the role unsuitable – it is for the tribunal to determine objectively whether offering a trial period is a reasonable adjustment in all the circumstances, including the likelihood of success and the suitability of the alternative role.
In Rentokil Initial UK Ltd v Miller the employee became unable to carry out his original, physically demanding field role. He applied for a more junior administrative role providing support to his original field role, but scored poorly in the written tests and interview and so was rejected. The EAT upheld the tribunal’s finding that it would have been a reasonable adjustment to offer him a 4 week trial period. The tribunal thought there was a reasonable chance that the employee would perform better in role than suggested by the recruitment process. The employee’s knowledge of the field role would be helpful in the new support role, and his previous role had also included tasks which suggested that he had writing and maths skills not demonstrated by his scores on the recruitment tests. A trial period could have allayed the concerns arising from the interview process and also provided an opportunity for the employee to be trained on relevant software.
Before deciding that an alternative role is unsuitable, employers should therefore consider whether it could be reasonable to offer a trial period and, if not, will need persuasive evidence as to why. An employee’s failure to pass written tests or an interview will not necessarily be enough, if there are reasons to suggest that they may nevertheless be able to perform the new role and a trial period may establish this.
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