disability policy v1.2

8/7/2019 Disability Policy v1.2

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Reference Procedure:- RF&S/DP 10B - Resource ManagementReflex Fire and SafetyDoc Ref : RF&S/DP/ 001Quality Management System Rev: 0Policy and Procedures Manual

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Disability Policy(RF&S/P 10B)

1. Statement Of Principle

Reflex Fire & Safety is committed to the promotion of equal opportunity for allpersons and strongly supports the rights of people with disabilities to participate inEducation, Training and Development both as employees and learners.

Reflex Fire & Safety shall foster and encourage amongst its staff and learnerspositive and unprejudiced attitudes towards people with disabilities and shall make

provisions, in so far as resources reasonably permit, for any service needed by andfor people with disabilities.

Reflex Fire & Safety shall take positive steps to encourage people to seek admissionto or employment with Reflex Fire & Safety regardless of disability.

Reflex Fire & Safety shall endeavour to ensure that its learning programmes promotean understanding of disability and that its research pursues the creation ofknowledge around disability.

2. Reference

This Policy must be read in conjunction with, and must include, amongst others, thefollowing pieces of legislation, policies, procedures, guidelines and other documentsthat relate to disability.

Access to Information Act, 2000 (Act No 2 of 2000)Aged Persons Act, 1967 (Act No. 81 of 1967);Basic Conditions of Employment Act Amended, 2002 (Act No.10 of 2002)Criminal Procedures Act, 1977 (Act No. 51 of 1977)Employment Equity Act No 55 of 1998International Classification of Functioning, Disability and HealthNational Health Act, 2003 (Act No. 61 of 2003)Labour Relations Act, (Act No.66 of 1995)Medicine & Related Substance Control Amendment Act, 2002(as amended) (Act No

59 of 2002)Mental Health Care Act No 17 of 2002National Development Agency Act, 1998 (Act No. 108 of 1998)Nursing Act No 50 of 1978 as amended by Nursing Amendment Act of 1981Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1993 (Act No. 85 of 1993)Prevention and Treatment of Drug Dependency Act, 1992 (Act 20 of 1992 asamended)Public Finance Management Act,1999 (Act No. 1 of 1999)S.A. Schools Act (Act No. 84 of 1996)Skills Development Amendment Act (Act No 31 of 2003)


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Social Assistance Act, 1992 (Act No. 59 of 1992);Social Service Professions Act, 1978 (Act No. 110 of 1978);Social Work Amendment Act, 1998 (Act No. 102 of 1998 as amended)

The S.A Constitution (Act 108 of 1996)The White Paper on Higher Education, Notice 1196 of 1997,The Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act 4 of 2000.

The Integrated National Disability Strategy (1997)

Aims and objectives of the disability Policy

3. The aim of this policy is:

To ensure compliance with the Constitution of South Africa and [the right to equality],to redress the disadvantages suffered in the past by people with disabilities, inpromotion of diversity by disability violates To embed a culture of inclusion forlearners and staff with disabilities. Reflex Fire & Safety complies with theEmployment Equity Act definition of a disabled people as: People with disabilityare people who have a long term or recurring physical, including sensory, or mentalimpairment which substantially limits their prospect of entry into or advancement in

employment..

Broad based Approach to Disability to cover acquired disability as opposed tocongenital conditions of disability

Reflex Fire & Safety embraces in all its other endeavours the accepted legaldefinition of disabilityDisability is a condition caused by an accident or trauma or genetics or disease,which limits a persons mobility, hearing, vision, speech, and intellectual or,emotional function

4. The objectives of this policy are:

To implement the commitment of Reflex Fire & Safety in developing aninclusive environment, which facilitates disclosure of disability and gives allapplicants and learners the opportunity to demonstrate and realise their fullpotential;

To provide for the commitment of the staff in their work to develop such anenvironment by providing disability awareness training for all staff;

To provide fair and equal treatment of all learners and staff;

To comply with the legislative requirements under the Promotion of Equalityand Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act 4 of 2000, as a service provider ofEducation, Training and Development that incidentally provides Goods,Facilities and Services, in particular the need to avoid discrimination and toprovide reasonable adjustments for disabled learners and staff;

To comply with the requirements of Education Training and Quality Assurance,Department of Higher Education and Council for Higher Education forestablishment of policies that support learners with disabilities, to ensure thatthe learning experience of a disabled learner is comparable to that of theirpeers.

5. Policy statement

Reflex Fire & Safety shall ensure:


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That the requirements of those learners or staff who disclose a disability orlearning difficulty are assessed or assisted on an individual basis according toa unique set of individual needs;

That all discussions and information regarding a disability or specific learningdifficulty are treated in a confidential manner and abide by Reflex Fire &Safetys confidentiality policy;

In the case of non-standard adjustments for disabled learners, the ProgrammeDirectors shall be involved in any discussions regarding adjustments to ensurethat academic rigour is maintained and that the necessary resources areavailable.

Reflex Fire & Safety Top management, all staff, learners and stakeholders areexpected to be responsible for implementing this policy.

6. Disabled learners

A disabled learner shall be encouraged to disclose their disability at an early stage,such as during the application or enrolment stage so provision may be made on time.Information on disability disclosure procedure is available on Reflex Fire & SafetysQMS. The Training Manager shall be notified when a learner discloses and shall makecontact with the learner, giving them the opportunity to make an appointment todiscuss any special support needs. A disabled learner shall be required to providewritten evidence of their disability (such as an medical, educational, psychologistsreport or proof of eligibility for disability income) if they are requesting anyreasonable adjustments.

If adjustments are agreed, a Learner Support Agreement shall be completed. Withthe learners formal consent, this shall be distributed to relevant staff only, in orderto ensure that any necessary adjustments are put in place.

7. Disabled staff

Legislation places specific responsibilities on employers relating to the recruitmentand appointment process. Reflex Fire & Safety shall ensure that a disability shouldnot bar an individual from employment unless it would genuinely prevent them fromdoing the job and there is nothing Reflex Fire & Safety can reasonably do toovercome difficulties resulting from any disability.

Reflex Fire & Safety shall consider making reasonable adjustments to workingarrangements and premises to prevent or reduce any substantial disadvantage, thusenabling a disabled staff member to perform their job effectively. Disabledindividuals shall therefore encouraged to disclose any disability, either verbally or in

writing to either the Training Manager, their HR representative or Director of HR, inorder for their needs to be assessed. The disabled staff member may be asked toprovide supporting documentation regarding their disability from a doctor orspecialist.

8. Physical Environment


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Reflex Fire & Safety recognises the importance of the layout of the site and of thedesign of buildings in the provision of a quality learning environment for learners andworking environment for staff with disabilities.

Physical access to and within buildings shall be planned, modified, maintained andextended in accordance with University-specific building guidelines. Other necessary

facilities and amenities shall be installed and Reflex Fire & Safety shall ensure thatadequate signage indicates the location of accessible entrances, toilets andemergency exits, ramps and lifts.

Reflex Fire & Safety shall endeavour to make suitable adaptations to officeand work, learning and residential, sport and leisure facilities wherenecessary, in order to accommodate people with disabilities.

9. Reasonable accommodation

"Reasonable accommodation" means any modification or adjustment to ajob or to the working environment that shall enable a person from a

designated group to have access to or participate or advance in employmentThe goal of reasonable accommodation shall be to ensure that no learner orstaff member is unjustifiably excluded from any University activity or facilitybecause he/she is disabled.

Procedures for the provision of reasonable accommodation (RA) shall be developedfor staff and learners.

10. Rights

Learners with disabilities have the following rights:

Equal access to courses, programmes, academic adjustments and/or

auxiliary aid.

Reasonable and appropriate accommodation, services, activities and

facilities.

Confidentiality of all information pertaining to the disability with a

choice of whom to disclose their disability to, except as required by law.

Information reasonably available in accessible formats.

11. Admissions

Reflex Fire & Safety welcomes learners with disabilities and will admit them using thesame criteria as for other learners, such as academic ability and suitability forcourse/degree.

No learner with a disability shall on that ground alone be refused admission to ReflexFire & Safety. However, the provision of appropriate support will be limited by theaffordability of those support systems. Reflex Fire & Safety commits itself, withincurrent and future financial constraints, to enabling as many learners with disabilitiesas possible to study at this institution.


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Learner Registrars shall ensure that the admission of learners with disabilities isconfirmed as early as possible, so that proper arrangements can be made to ensurethat they have appropriate support throughout their years of study.

12. Learning Delivery and Assessments

Learners must be evaluated on their abilities not their disabilities and, wherepracticable, methods of Training and assessment be modified to take account of thedifficulties experienced by learners with disabilities.

At the time of application for admission, current and prospective learners withdisabilities must discuss with Learning Programme Co-ordinators and the staff of theDisabled Learners Programme (DSP), their particular needs in respect ofparticipating in course work, fulfilling Learning Programme requirements andcompleting Assessments. In the event that Reflex Fire & Safety is unable to meet theknown requirements of an individual learner, the limitations of provision shall beexplained to the learner prior to their admission to Reflex Fire & Safety.

The Co-ordinator of the Disabled Learners Programme and Learning Programme Co-ordinators shall liaise to ensure that appropriate arrangements are made toaccommodate the needs of learners with disabilities for example reading of Learningmaterial onto tapes, provision of computers for writing Assessments.

Facilities appropriate to the needs of learners with disabilities shall be made availableduring Assessments and extra time shall be allowed, where appropriate, for learnerswith learning and other disabilities. Special assessment arrangements shall beavailable for learners who, by reason of disability, would otherwise be unfairlypenalised. Any special arrangements shall minimise any handicap and should nototherwise advantage the learners.

13. Financial assistance

Learners with disabilities may apply for financial aid through the SETA or donorinstitutions and Reflex Fire & Safety shall continuously forge relations with providersof financial assistance.

14. Co-operation with other institutions and organisations

In the interests of providing learners with disabilities the best possible support and tooptimise the use of resources, Reflex Fire & Safety shall co-operate with other highereducational institutions in Gauteng and nationally.

Reflex Fire & Safety shall strive to liaise with extra-institutional role players, e.g. thenational Department of Education, the National Learner Financial Aid Scheme ofSouth Africa to explore ways of financing disabled learners studies.

15. The Disabled Learners Programme (DSP) as a model

Reflex Fire & Safety shall encourage research, policy and programme developmentwithin the DSP, to serve as a sustainable model for funding and policy options arounddisability in Higher Education in South Africa.


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The DSP presently provides a number of services including computer facilities,Brailled Assessment papers and notes, sign language interpreters and counselling.

The existing levels of service shall be maintained within resource constraints, withannual reviews.

16. Staff With Disabilities

Appointment

A decision to appoint a staff member will be based on the inherent requirements ofthe job and the ability of the candidate to fulfil those requirements. Disability per sewill not be justifiable grounds for non-appointment. If appropriate, the candidate maybe required to furnish a medical report certifying that he/she is able to perform thework required.

Conditions of Employment

Reasonable accommodation in respect of conditions of employment such as flexibleworking hours will be negotiated, if necessary, with staff who have disabilities. In all

other cases, staff with disabilities will be subject to the same conditions ofemployment, disciplinary codes and contractual obligations as other employees.

Disability will not be a criterion for refusing to promote, train and/or develop a staffmember.

Reporting disability

To comply with the Employment Equity Act (which requires a demographic analysisof the workforce in respect of race, gender and disability), records will have to bekept by the Transformation and Employment Equity Office of staff members withdisabilities. These records will be confidential and will be used for no other purposethan anonymous reporting to the Department of Labour.

Reasonable Accommodation

In addition to modification of the physical environment, the needs of staff withdisabilities will be addressed as stated in the relevant human resources proceduresdocuments.

Equipment and facilities appropriate to the needs of staff with disabilities will bemade available in order for them to fulfil the requirements of the job. Performancemanagement will take into account whether the staff members reasonableaccommodation needs have been met. The provision of reasonable accommodationwill primarily be aimed at removing the barriers that would otherwise hinder the full

integration of a disabled staff in the workplace.

Managers and supervisors will be sensitised to the needs of people with disabilities.

Termination of Employment

The termination of employment of an employee with a disability will besubject to the same policies and procedures as all other employees. Specifically:


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No employee will have his/her employment terminated on the basis ofdisability alone, nor will disability influence retrenchment decisions;

Retiring by Reflex Fire & Safety on the grounds of ill health will bebased solely on the employees ability to do the job, after having assessed theprovision of appropriate reasonable accommodation(s).

An employee with a disability will be employed until normal retirement

age, unless the disability becomes so incapacitating that he/she is unable tofulfil the requirements of the job satisfactorily. Disability and ill-healthretirement will be assessed in the usual manner and the usual conditionspertaining to disability or ill-health retirement will apply.

17. Benefits

Staff with disabilities will be entitled to the same benefits as all other staff.

Reflex Fire & Safety will strive to ensure that the rules and procedures relating toaccess to and provision of employment benefits including provident funds andmedical funds do not discriminate unfairly against employees with disabilities. ReflexFire & Safety acknowledges, however, that final decisions about membership andbenefits will be governed by the rules of the Medical Aid Scheme and Provident Funds

18. Measurement of policys success

Feedback from disabled learners shall be sought by Reflex Fire & Safety and passedon to the Training Manager. Any learner or staff complaints that relate to disabilityissues should be directed to the Training Manager, either on an individual basis or viathe Quality Committee. The measures of success for this policy shall be a decrease inthe number of complaints regarding disability matters, as well as an increase in theamount of positive feedback received from one year to the next.

The Training Manager shall liaise with individual learners in order to review thesuccess of adjustments agreed in Learner Support Agreements. Review shall take

place at a minimum on an annual basis.

19. Monitoring of the policy

The Training Manager shall collate feedback received from disabled learners andstaff, in order to monitor the effectiveness of the policy, and shall report findings tothe Quality Committee.

20. Review of the policy

The policy shall be reviewed on an annual basis at the Quality Committee, where anyamendments or improvements shall be discussed.

21. Complaint, grievance and disciplinary procedures

Reflex Fire & Safety has comprehensive complaint, grievance and disciplinaryprocedures for staff and learners. The scope of these procedures includes complaintsarising from discrimination in relation to disability.


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Reference Procedure:- RF&S/DP 10B Disability Policy

disability policy v1.2

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