Case 5 – Teacher with lower back pain – making reasonable adjustments

Key points

• Teacher develops lower back pain.
• Concerns about carrying teaching equipment around the classroom and sitting down for long periods doing marking.

Allan has taught science at a secondary school for the past 10 years. Recently, he has developed lower back pain, which is made worse if he has to move or lift heavy objects and sit down for long periods. He has also noticed that his symptoms are much worse in term time.

Allan has to use and move equipment for his job, and has to do a lot of marking and lesson preparation, which cannot be done by another teacher. He is worried that the school may think he cannot carry on his teaching role and that he will have to leave a job he loves.

All members of staff are given a laptop computer to do their lesson preparation at home. Many of the science lessons are delivered using an interactive whiteboard.

What are the issues?

Lower back problems are the most common health conditions amongst the working population, but back pain is still not well understood by many employers. Chronic back pain can be a disability protected under the Disability Discrimination Act, if it affects their normal day-to-day activities. The Act generally defines disability not in terms of someone’s ability to function at work, or in terms of specific clinical conditions, but in the effect it has on daily activities, such as climbing stairs, listening to the radio, taking a shower, social interaction or going to the shops.

Alan is clearly worried about how his condition will affect his career – and this anxiety could make his condition worse. He fears that the back pain might actually be caused by his work.

The school must assess the situation, consider what its legal obligations are as well as see what it can do to ensure that Allan’s condition does not get worse, which could risk him being unable to work at all.

What is the right approach?

Allan works for a good employer, his school prides itself on how well it supports its staff in their teaching roles, and this includes disabled staff. When Allan speaks to the head teacher, she says that she is aware that back pain can be a serious issue and that the school will do what it can to help. She says that, in practice, she does not mind whether or not Allan would be covered by the Disability Discrimination Act, because she values him as a staff member and wants to keep him in his job. She suggests that they first seek advice from the local authority occupational health department.

Allan is referred to an occupational health practitioner who advises that he should not carry or move heavy items but that he should try to remain as active as possible. Remaining seated for prolonged periods is likely to exacerbate the condition. The practitioner gives Allan a booklet called The Back Book*, which contains some general advice on coping with his condition and says that she will refer him for a short course of physiotherapy to help him with appropriate exercises and in coping with his condition. The practitioner will also write to Allan’s GP outlining his advice.

The practitioner sends a report to the school head teacher, after discussing the contents of the report with Allan. She recommends that the school’s health and safety officer assesses ways to reduce the manual handling component of the job and advises that Allan should not be required to remain seated for long periods at work. She advises that the school also considers ways to minimise any ergonomic risks associated with using a laptop. Allan currently has to look down at a small screen while typing – the associated posture is not helping, she says. The practitioner is unable to say whether Allan’s work is the cause of his back pain – but agrees that, in the least, it is likely to be making it worst.

* The Back Book is available from The Stationery Office, www.tsoshop.co.uk

The head arranges for the school’s health and safety officer to meet with Alan and to look at his job and ways to reduce manual handling and other ergonomic risks. The officer produces an initial report and a meeting is arranged for the head teacher, the health and safety officer, the trade union safety representative and Allan to discuss the way forward. They agree a number of actions:

• If any equipment needs moving around at the start of the science lesson, the laboratory assistant will do this. The health and safety officer will make sure that the assistant’s manual handling training is up to date.
• The head teacher suggests that they may be able to move some of Allan’s classes so that the room is already set up for him to teach; she will investigate the current room allocations and timetables and make the necessary changes as soon as practicable.
• It is agreed that Allan will be provided with a new chair for his main classroom. The safety officer will arrange for Allan to try out a number of possible chairs so that one can be chosen that provides the right ergonomic support and comfort. He will be shown how to adjust it to the right height, tilt and armrest level. The school will also purchase a desktop PC for Alan to use at home where most of the lesson preparation takes place. Use of the laptop will be confined to when Allan uses the interactive whiteboard during lessons. It will also provide him with a suitable adjustable chair and desk that he can use at home.
• The head of the science department will be asked to ascertain if it would be possible to share more teaching resources between the science teachers, to reduce the amount of computer-based preparation Allan needs to do.
• Allan agrees that he will try to remain as active as possible, and following the advice of the practitioner will try to deliver as much of the lesson as possible while standing up.
• The head teacher says that they will review the situation regularly to ensure that things are going well.

The school has taken a responsible approach to Allan’s back condition and has started to put in place measures to support him at work and help prevent the situation worsening. Allan may well be covered by the Disability Discrimination Act, but as the head teacher points out they want to do what they can regardless of any legal obligations under the Act. It should noted, however, that the employer does have obligations to Allan under health and safety laws, including the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations, the Manual Handling Operations Regulations and the Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations. Purchasing appropriate equipment, such as ergonomic seating and, in this case a desktop PC rather than a laptop, along with training in how to use the equipment safely, would be appropriate responses to the risk-assessment process. The costs of fulfilling these duties are, in any case, small compared with the potential huge costs associated with losing an experienced teacher. Allan has agreed to do what he can to ensure that his condition does not get worse, taking on the advice of the occupational practitioner to remain active, avoid prolonged seating and go for physiotherapy.

The solutions to this case study are practical and have involved appropriate expert advice. The head teacher and Allan have been fully involved in finding a way forward, working with the health and safety officer and safety representative and seeking expert advice from the occupational practitioner. Although there are legal obligations to be addressed, the primary aim was to ensure that Allan can continue to function at work without exacerbating his back condition.