Aim: To remove or reduce substantial disadvantage for disabled people working with Chambers or receiving legal services
- Tanfield Chambers (“Chambers”) is committed to making reasonable adjustments in order to remove or reduce substantial disadvantage for disabled people working with Chambers or receiving legal services. This policy covers all employees of Chambers, barristers, pupils, mini-pupils, assistants to barristers and visitors to Chambers.
Circulation
- This policy is circulated to all members, staff, pupils, assistants to barristers and is made available to visitors to Chambers and those who deal with Chambers through Chambers’ website.
Definition of disability
- For the purposes of this policy the definition of disability follows that set out in the Equality Act 2010 s.6. A person is therefore disabled if they have a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day- to-day activities. “Substantial” means more than minor or trivial and “long term” means 12 months or more.
Types of reasonable adjustment
- This policy does not provide an exhaustive list of the reasonable adjustments that Chambers will make for staff, barristers, pupils or visitors. However, the types of adjustment that may be made are listed below:
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- Provision of information in alternative formats (e.g. large print, Braille etc)
- Paid leave for disabled employees of Chambers
- Provision of auxiliary aids e.g. induction loops
- Provision of accessible conference room facilities
- Provision of a reader or interpreter
Staff, barristers and others in Chambers
- Pupils with specific requirements should make requests to the Director of Pupillage for reasonable adjustment decisions. Staff or other barristers with specific requirements should make such requests to the Governance Board. All requests for reasonable adjustments will be considered on a case-by-case basis with the advice and assistance of Chambers’ Equality and Diversity Officer(s) and where it is not possible to make the adjustment requested Chambers’ Chief Executive Officer will discuss viable alternatives with the applicant.
- The Equality and Diversity Officer(s), in conjunction with the Fire Marshall(s), are responsible for considering whether or not disabled staff, barristers or pupils require assistance during an emergency evacuation and if so whether or not a personal emergency evacuation plan is required for the individual/s concerned. Any such plan will be developed in partnership with the individual concerned in order to ensure that any necessary adjustments to the emergency evacuation procedure may be made.
Visitors to Chambers
- Barristers are responsible for considering reasonable adjustment requests for their visitors. They are also responsible for anticipating any likely reasonable adjustments that will need to be made for visitors whom they know to be disabled and are likely to require assistance. Visitor requests for specific reasonable adjustments may be made by contacting Chambers’ receptionist.
- Applicants for pupillage are asked to indicate whether any reasonable adjustments are required as part of the application form which is removed before the Pupillage Committee sees it. Those requests are dealt with by the Director of Pupillage.
Cost of making reasonable adjustments
- In no circumstances will Chambers pass on the cost of a reasonable adjustment to a disabled person.
Monitoring and review
- This policy was adopted by the Governance Board on 28 September 2023 and will be reviewed every two years.
