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The legal implications of dementia in the workplace

Egdell, Valerie; Stavert, Jill; McGregor, Rebecca

Authors

Valerie Egdell

Rebecca McGregor



Abstract

Dementia is a growing issue in the United Kingdom (UK) with over 800,000 people affected. Of these people in excess of 40,000 are aged under 65 years. Thus, a significant number of individuals may be experiencing symptoms of dementia while in employment. In addition, as working lives extend, the potential impact of dementia on the workplace could be substantial. However, to date, there has been little research on experiences of dementia in the workplace. The research that exists highlights the lack of support for workers with dementia. Dementia may be considered to be a disability under the Equality Act 2010. Therefore, the legislation potentially provides a framework for individuals to request that their employer make reasonable adjustments to support their continued employment. International human rights law is potentially another tool that could be utilised to obtain necessary adjustments. This paper argues that in developing the evidence base on workplace experiences of dementia, it is important that the legal framework be considered. This paper reviews the existing literature on dementia in the workplace and embeds this in the legislative framework in order to establish a cross disciplinary research agenda. While the paper focuses on the UK legal context, the argument presented in the paper is still relevant to other national contexts.

Citation

Egdell, V., Stavert, J., & McGregor, R. (2017). The legal implications of dementia in the workplace. Ageing and society, 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0144686X17000642

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date May 25, 2017
Online Publication Date Jun 23, 2017
Publication Date Jun 23, 2017
Deposit Date May 30, 2017
Publicly Available Date May 30, 2017
Journal Ageing and Society
Print ISSN 0144-686X
Electronic ISSN 1469-1779
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Pages 1-16
DOI https://doi.org/10.1017/S0144686X17000642
Keywords Dementia, workplace, older workers, Equality Act 2010, human rights law, cross disciplinary research
Public URL http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/Output/855491
Contract Date May 30, 2017