Assessment, adjustment and ongoing discussions are essential to the process
A brain injury can happen to anyone. Headway, the brain injury charity, estimates there were 348,934 hospital admissions for acquired head injuries (in other words, injuries that are not congenital or caused at birth) between 2013 and 2014. A significant proportion of these people are likely to be employees, and those with a minor or moderate brain injury could potentially return to work, with the help of reasonable adjustments. Those with a severe injury may not be able to.
When an employee makes the difficult re-entry into the workplace after suffering a brain injury, it can be hard for an employer to help the person acclimatise and get back on his or her career path. Specialist advice may be needed.
There is legislation underpinning the process of a disabled employee returning to work. The Equality Act 2010 protects disabled employees, workers and job seekers from discrimination, and requires employers to make reasonable adjustments – this involves removing those barriers that make work more difficult for a disabled person. The adjustments can include making physical changes to work premises, altering equipment, offering training opportunities or changing the way that policies and procedures are applied to disabled employees.
The causes of acquired brain injuries vary. They may be caused by an accident, for example, a blow to the head in a vehicle collision, or by a stroke, or by an infection affecting the brain (for example, meningitis). The injury can manifest itself in unusual ways, and some people can seem unaffected outwardly by it, or it may cause more noticeable physical problems that affect mobility. Other symptoms – such as sensory impairment, problems with balance and extreme fatigue – are less immediately obvious. Brain injuries can also cause anxiety, irritability, personality changes and mood swings, and these can be difficult to manage in the workplace.
Brain-injured employees may find it difficult to face the slow journey back to recovery, and accept that in some respects they are never going to be the same again. This forms part of the overwhelming psychological process that they and their family face in coming to terms with the consequences of the injury, a process which can place considerable strain on personal relationships both in and outside work. Separation and even divorce are common.
An employer would need to balance the needs of the brain-injured employee with the organisation’s ability to offer the person a reasonable level of support in the workplace. The employee might find it difficult to interact with workmates and behave appropriately, if his or her inhibition is affected, for example. Whether the employee wishes to disclose some or all of the details of his or her brain injury to colleagues is another topic that needs to be addressed.
There are no catch-all solutions that can be put in place; the effects of a brain injury vary hugely, and each employee needs to be managed on a case-by-case basis, through discussion. Arranging a meeting with someone seeking to return to work is the first step. It may be that the employee can only return gradually, or work to a schedule that incorporates more breaks, or fewer hours, alongside management support. This needs to be discussed with them, and may involve trying different approaches to discover what works best.
They may need to take on a smaller workload initially or an entirely new role. A brain-injured person may approach tasks in different ways, as the injury will affect the way he or she thinks, learns and remembers things, and it could also have implications for his or her motivation and concentration. Employers will need to take into account that the employee’s time-keeping abilities or organisational skills may have been affected, and put in place systems and work aids to support those aspects.
It may seem like a huge task to reintegrate a brain-injured employee, but following these steps will ensure the person is best placed to both continue to provide a valued contribution to the workplace and achieve success in his or her career.
Suzanne Trask is a partner at solicitors Bolt Burdon Kemp and Laura Daniels a barrister at Kings Chambers
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