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Ask the expert: Is depression covered by the DDA?

Posted by Esther Smith, Martin Brewer in Employment law on Tue, 13/07/2010 - 09:03

Martin Brewer and Esther Smith advise on whether depression is covered in this instance under the disability discrimination act.

The question: Is depression covered by the DDA?

I had been off work for some six weeks with depression. When I returned OH said that I was fit to work, without adjustments, but OH also said they could not guarantee me delivering a reliable service.

I have an issue with my employer over the DDA and they advise that I am not covered because I was only off for six weeks and OH had said I was fit to work; however my employer has totally ignored the comment that I could not deliver a reliable service. As such they did not carry out any further investigation and are denying that I am covered by DDA.

Additionally since the first OH report a second report has been submitted that states in the opinion of OH the symptoms have existed since March 2009. Should I be covered under the DDA?

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Editor's Welcome

Hello! And welcome back as we enter 2012, with a busy year ahead of us all. With talk of double-dip recessions, a possible partial or even full break-up of the Eurozone and unemployment rates set to hit nearly 9%, topics such as organisational streamlining, staff resilience and talent management are likely to be on many an HR professional's lips over the next 12 months.

But to lighten the gloom here in the UK, we also have the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and its attendant public holidays to look forward to at the start of June. Followed by two weeks of Olympic Games from 27 July to 12 August and the Paralympics from 29 August to 9 September, each generating their own excitement, but also issues to work through for hard-pressed HR departments trying to sort out the multifarious staffing issues in advance.

So with an interesting but challenging year to come, HRZone promises to be with you, supporting you all the way and providing our usual insightful blend of news, analysis, community blogs and expert comment to help you sort the wheat from the chaff. As ever, we love to hear from you too so feel free to either post your words of wisdom to our blog section yourself or, in the case of longer, more in-depth ‘expert voice’ articles, drop me a line with any ideas to cath.everett@siftmedia.co.uk.....

Cath Everett

HRZone Editor

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