Staff with Disabilities and their Managers Guidelines

These guidelines provide information for managers of disabled staff to help ensure:

• A safe, inclusive, and accessible University working environment
• That staff with disabilities can participate on an equitable basis with others.

Note: ‘Disabled people’ and ‘people with disabilities’ have been used interchangeably throughout this document. This recognises that some people prefer identity-first language, whilst others prefer person-first language.

The University’s intellectual, social, and creative life, as well as its innovation, engagement, and productivity, benefit from having diverse staff - who have varied experiences and perspectives. People with disabilities are important members of, and contributors to, the University community.

People may have a disability when they apply to work at the University or acquire one after appointment. The disability may change in severity and be temporary, permanent, or intermittent. New Zealand’s aging workforce is likely to increase the number of highly skilled current and future employees who have disabilities.

These guidelines describe good practices that support disabled staff and - in line with Te Ara Tautika, The Equity Policy – foster an environment where everyone can thrive.  

Key responsibilities

In summary, managers should:

• Create an inclusive, accessible work environment
• Respond appropriately when staff share disability information and protect privacy
• Use inclusive practices when welcoming new staff members with disabilities
• Implement and regularly review reasonable accommodations, where relevant
• Support equitable performance, development, and career progressio
• Seek advice when unsure.

1. Create an inclusive and accessible workplace environment

• Encourage a culture that celebrates people’s differences – for instance, through:
  • Supporting team members to access training which can assist with awareness and understanding. In particular:
    • Disability Confidence
    • Hidden Disabilities Sunflower
    • Privacy 101
    • Unconscious bias.
  • Take a universal design perspective to help make the work environment inclusive and accessible.
•  Be alert to, and avoid, inappropriate discrimination: 
  •  Direct discrimination occurs when a disabled person is treated less favourably than other people in the same circumstances. This may be unintentional, for example making an assumption about a person’s fitness to perform a role without asking them first
  •  Indirect discrimination occurs when a practice appears to treat everyone the same but disadvantages staff with disabilities. For instance, only sharing important information about work processes or changes verbally in meetings may disadvantage staff with hearing impairments, cognitive disabilities, or neurodivergence. Good practice would include also providing the information in accessible written formats.

2. Respect privacy

• Where a staff member shares information about their disability:
  • Listen
  • Focus on any challenges they might experience/be experiencing with the current work environment rather than their disability and/or diagnosis.
• Do not share information about a person’s disability without their consent. More information about privacy can be found in the:
  • Disability Information Guidelines
  • Reasonable Accommodations for Disability Guidelines.

3. Welcome new staff 

• Consider what a disabled staff member might need to settle into their new role. The ‘Support for staff with disabilities and impairments – University of Auckland’ intranet page has information about inclusive practices relating to:
  • Onboarding and orientation
  • Supports and safety for new staff members.
    

4. Provide reasonable accommodations

• Procure and implement reasonable accommodations for disabled staff to help with access, inclusion and participation. Regularly review agreed reasonable accommodations to ensure these are still supporting their work. Reviews should form part of a general wellbeing check-in, which can be relatively informal and short.
• Where appropriate, work with the staff member to ensure meetings, training, and other activities, including communications, are inclusive and accessible. For more information refer to the:
  • Creating accessible communications advice 
  • Checklist for hosting inclusive events
  • Staff with disabilities and impairments intranet page.

5. Support appointments, career development, progression, and promotions

• Follow the Achievement Relative to Opportunity Policy and Procedures regarding appointments, access to career development and progression, and promotions.  These:
  • Re-examine the concept of merit, and how productivity may be affected by personal circumstances
  • Acknowledge what has been achieved given the opportunities available.

Get in touch with Staff Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for help.

• Reasonable accommodations for disability policy, procedures, guidelines, and case studies
• Inclusive recruitment – tips for when advertising for and hiring new staff and a checklist for employing staff with disabilities
• Achievement Relative to Opportunity Policy and Procedures, and Guidelines
• Addressing Bullying, Harassment and Discrimination Policy and Procedures
• Te Ara Tautika, The Equity Policy
• Health, Safety and Wellbeing Policy

Waipapa Taumata Rau defines disability as any physical, psychological, cognitive, or sensory impairment which, in interaction with social and systemic barriers, restricts a person's full and effective participation in university life on an equal basis with others.

Owner: Pro Vice-Chancellor Equity, May 2026