Workplace Adjustments for People with Disabilities. A Case Study of a Research Company. Part I – Barriers for People with Disabilities

Abstract

The crucial issue concerning employment of people with disabilities is making workplace adjustments to accommodate their special needs and abilities. In Poland, the Labor Code and statutory law on occupational and social rehabilitation and employment of people with disabilities impose this obligation on the employer. However, the regulations provide no further explanation of how to proceed with such accommodation. A review of EU legislation has not revealed any exact guidelines or instruments for workplace disability analysis. In the two-part article, an example of workplace adjustments to accommodate the needs of disabled people is presented based on a case study of a research company operating in Łódź as a typical representative of the industry. In the first part, the results of the study performed with the ‘Checklist for assessment of workplace adjustment to the needs of people with disabilities’ are discussed. The second part presents adjustment recommendations to accommodate the needs and capacities of people with different types of disabilities. Other research and development organizations, scientific and higher education institutions may use the reported results to improve the employment-to-population ratio for people with disabilities.