The legal implications of dementia in the workplace

Egdell, Valerie; Stavert, Jill; McGregor, Rebecca

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