Can anyone advise whether they have dealt with the issue of employees with limited english comprehension?

hmrhmr1717

Capability is a fair reason for dismissal, but dismissing someone on the grounds of race or nationality is an automatically unfair reason for dismissal.

I have, so far, made an assumption that the employees you are referring to are not English speaking, but foreign. You, as an employer, have to make individual assessments for each employee in terms of Health and Safety and make reasonable ajdustments. For example, putting up H&S signs in other languages would be a good example of a reasonable adjustment.

If, however, your employees are English speaking but fall within the definition of someone with a learning disibility such as dyslexia, they would also fall within the boundaries of the Disibility Discrimination Act 1995 whereby you have to make reasonable adjustments to help them do their job.

Now, whilst this sounds like a dead end for you, at the end of the day, you are an employer with a purpose of (probably) making a profit and (probably) have to be competitive in the marketplace. Therefore, the law only requires you to make an assessment and make 'reasonable adjustments' to help that employee...this would involve a comprehensive Capability programme with regular reviews (capability is not just for absence). Once this has been exhausted, then Capability can be used as the reason for dismissal.

This advice is given though based on the information you have provided above. It really depends on the job, the person, the cause for the limited english comprehension, the type of organisation and size and so on....

Tread wisely! You can also contact ACAS for further advice.

Good Luck!

charterman

The only danger here is your safety when working with a person who does not understand you or the written word.
Imagine you need them to turn something off and they don't understand, the result could be yours or other peoples injured or death.

Clive

If you cannot work because you cannot communicate properly, it is right and proper that you should be sacked at once. Why should you be subsidised by your hard working colleagues?

shelcom

That is true, and its not draconian or dangerous. It's business. If you can't do the job you get fired. That's it. Simple.

Space_Cadet

Companies are in the business of making profit for their share holders/owners and all employees must be able to contribute at the bottom line. They are not meant to be altruistic organizations nor should they be -- that is left to charitable organizations. So if a persons ability to read and comprehend instructions in any language is a factor that affects their ability to contribute to that bottom line then I think your issue about a draconian attitude is not a fair assessment.

Relative to dealing with the situation -- if the employee is a significant contributor to the company then the company could support them by offering to pay for some reading courses at a local college or other educational facility. If not, then having the person move to another career where their ability to read/comprehend a particular language will not impede their ability to contribute to the company bottom line is the best option for both the employer and the employee.

Tufty Porcupine

An employer could terminate the contract of someone on the grounds of capability, but to be deemed to be reasonable they must be able to demonstrate they have done everything possible to rectify the problem.
The big question is likely to be why and how an employer recruited such a person in the first place - if English comprehension is essential to the job then the employer ought to have taken steps to assess it as part of the recruitment process.

Enter Your Message or Comment

User Name:
User Email:
Post a comment: