Workplace adjustments across the employee lifecycle
The employee lifecycle refers to the natural stages a school staff member goes through during their time at the department. The employee lifecycle is a continuous cycle, with engagement at each stage influencing the next.
Resources are available to support both principals/managers and staff members to implement workplace adjustments across the employee lifecycle.
Recruitment and selection
Workplace adjustment during the recruitment phase ensures that all applicants have a fair chance to demonstrate they have the skills required for the position. Not every applicant needs to be assessed in an identical manner. This provides flexibility when assessing applicants with a disability. All applicants should be encouraged to ask if they require any workplace adjustments through the recruitment process.
When reading the Schools Recruitment Guide, hiring principals/managers should understand the balancing of substantive equality and merit, that is, equal treatment does not achieve equity for applicants with disability.
The onus is on the panel chair to ask any applicant if any workplace adjustments are required, such as an accessible room or parking for an applicant in a wheelchair. For applicants with disability, hiring principals/managers and panel members should consider what information is appropriate for the situation. It is best practice for the panel chair to take an active approach and not to assume that a person’s health information will be offered voluntarily.
Available resources:
- Recruitment in Schools
- Inclusive Recruitment
- Principal Selection
- Best Practice Guide: Recruitment and Selection (tips on inclusive
- Recruiting People with Disability
- Recruiting People with Disability
- Disability employment information for hiring managers
Induction and on-boarding
Where disability information has been shared at the recruitment stage, all effort should be taken to determine any workplace adjustments and where possible that these are arranged to be in place prior to commencement.
Performance and career development
The department is committed to developing capabilities of all its staff. Tools and resources are available to support principals/managers and staff to support every career journey.
Workplace adjustment should be considered when required to enable staff member performance and career development. For example, how a Performance and Development Plan (PDP) is approached, its timing, and what is considered suitable progression.
Retention
Promoting a healthy work-life balance will help to retain skilled staff and boost productivity. Flexible work arrangements can be an example of workplace adjustments. Flexible work requests may include arrangements around working time, work organisation or the work environment. A change to work arrangements may occur just once or be ongoing (for a fixed or indefinite time).
The department promotes a safe, inclusive and respectful workplace free form discrimination and harassment. Please refer to the Inclusive Workplaces Guide for resources to assist principals/managers and staff to create inclusive and respectful workplaces.
Reviewed 05 March 2024
