An employer appoints someone with a disability and puts in place the necessary changes to the working environment to enable the employee to carry out their role. After the first year of probation, it is becoming clear that the employee is having difficulty in meeting the requirements of the position. What action should the employer take to deal with the situation without finding themselves in a breach of the disability legislation?

We will assume that the employee in this case suffers from a disability as defined in the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, but this is something you should seek specific legal advice on. Without knowing exactly why or how the employee is having difficulty meeting the requirements of the position, an important step towards mitigating against the risk of the employee bringing a disability discrimination claim is to consider what further reasonable workplace adjustments can be made. Also, to mitigate against the risk of an unfair dismissal claim (should the employer wish to dismiss the employee), it will need to show a fair reason for the dismissal (capability in this case) and that it