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Employment Bill [HL]

moved Amendment No. 9: 9: After Clause 3, insert the following new Clause— ““Incapacity in relation to grievance and disciplinary procedures (1) Where an employee is unable to participate in a grievance or disciplinary procedure because he or she is incapacitated, and where it is apparent to the employer that the cause of the incapacity might be related to an occupational factor, the employer shall conduct or, as may be appropriate, review a risk assessment in accordance with the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 (S.I. 1999/3242) to establish the cause of the employee’s incapacity. (2) If the cause, as established by subsection (1), is related to an occupational factor, the employer shall take reasonable steps to contain and minimise the effects of that cause on the employee. (3) For the purposes of subsections (1) and (2)— (a) it will be apparent to the employer that the cause of incapacity might relate to an occupational factor if— (i) the employee, or a medical practitioner by whom the employee has been examined, informs the employer to this effect, or (ii) if an impartial observer would reasonably believe the cause of the incapacity might relate to an occupational factor, and (b) ““incapacity”” means a physical or mental impairment, which has a substantially adverse effect upon a person’s ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.”” The noble Lord said: Amendment No. 9 relates to a small but key point. It relates to incapacity in relation to grievance and disciplinary procedures; it draws strong attention to the need for risk assessment. In theory, a risk assessment should be done on all risks that can potentially harm employees, so it should ensure a safe working environment. Here, we are talking about where an employee is unable to participate in a grievance or disciplinary procedure because he or she is incapacitated and it is apparent to the employer that the cause of the incapacity might be related to an occupational factor. The employer should conduct, as may be appropriate, a risk assessment to cover this issue. In theory, a risk assessment should be done on all risks, but we feel this particular area needs addressing. It can be a great detriment to a potential employee. I beg to move.