Dementia in the workplace: are employers supporting employees living with dementia?

Abstract

Objectives

As working lives extend and there is better recognition of early-onset dementias, employers need to consider dementia as a workplace concern. With suitable support, people living with dementia can continue employment – although, this is not appropriate for all. The requirement for employers to support employees living with dementia has human rights and legal foundations. This article considers whether employers consider dementia as a workplace concern; and the policies and/or practices available to support employees living with dementia. Thus, it develops understanding of whether employers are meeting their human rights/legislative obligations.

Method

A sequential mixed-methods approach was employed, with data collection undertaken in Scotland (United Kingdom). An online survey was sent to employers across Scotland, with 331 participating. Thirty employer interviews were conducted, with the survey results informing the interview approach.

Results

The survey and interview data were analyzed separately and then combined and presented thematically. The themes identified were (1) Dementia as a workplace concern, (2) Support for employees living with dementia and (3) Employer policy development and awareness raising. The findings demonstrate dementia awareness, but this knowledge is not applied to employment situations. There was little evidence suggesting that the rights of employees living with dementia are consistently upheld.

Conclusion

This research sends out strong messages about the rights and legal position of person living with dementia which cannot be ignored. The continuing potential of employees living with dementia and their legal rights are not consistently recognized. This highlights the need for robust training interventions for employers.

Keywords:

• Dementia
• workplace
• employers
• human rights
• employment legislation

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 It should be noted that there are slight differences in the approaches taken in the Equality Act 2010 and CRPD (see Author, for an overview).

2 CRPD rights cannot be enforced through UK national courts and tribunals. However, the UK has an obligation under international law to comply with it and devolved Scottish legislation and Scottish Government policy risks being blocked by the UK Government for incompatibility with the CRPD (Sections 35 and 58 Scotland Act 1998). Moreover, the increasing influence and recognition of the CRPD within Scotland can be evidenced in the Scottish Government’s 2016 CRPD delivery plan (Scottish Government, 2016) and its recent consultation on reform of the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 (Scottish Government, 2018). However, internationally CRPD is not explicitly incorporated in national dementia plans and strategies (Splain et al., 2017).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland [grant number 50321].