When your manager asks you to do something that seems to be beyond your usual responsibilities, it is not advisable to respond with the phrase, “That’s not in my job description”.
Job descriptions are not legally binding contracts, but they can be used as evidence in legal proceedings if there are questions or conflicts about the job. While they provide guidelines for employee roles, inconsistencies between a job description and actual responsibilities can lead to legal disputes.
Most people carry this non-chalant attitude because they don’t want to be held responsible if anything bad happens to the people under their care. They do it to protect themselves against liability reasons. The problem is that they have a duty of care.
This is the View from Where I Sit vs the view from where you sit!!!
Job descriptions aren’t comprehensive, and most people end up doing work that doesn’t align within their job description. Refusing to do a particular task because it’s not in your job description is a good way to lose the support of your boss. Instead, focus on your situation and your capabilities to take on additional work.
Some job descriptions will have sections which express qualifications and or attributes which are required for the role. It could be easy to unintentionally fall foul of a protected characteristic here and discriminate due to some poorly chosen wording. The law doesn’t offer a definitive guide on what should or shouldn’t be included, but uses a test of what might ‘reasonably be understood as indicating an intention to discriminate’ and whether if the “ordinary” person looked at it, whether they would consider it discriminatory.
A legal framework is provided in the Equality Act 2010 to tackle disadvantage and discrimination, and this framework applies to job descriptions too. The Act details 9 protected characteristics which individuals cannot be treated unfairly as a result of. These are age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, gender or sexual orientation.
The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 defined disability as physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on a person’s ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. The act provided protection against discrimination in several areas, including:
- Employment and occupation
- Education
- Transport
This made it illegal for employers and service providers such as shops and restaurants to discriminate against someone because they were disabled. The legislation bans employers discriminating against jobseekers and employees with disabilities. And it also bans service providers from discriminating against service-users with disabilities. It places a duty on employers and service providers to make reasonable adjustments for people with disabilities.
And that is the View from Where I Sit!!!
Protection against disability discrimination | nidirect
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/explainers-54823810
https://uk.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/that-is-not-my-job
https://www.mindtools.com/a2h3mte/thats-not-my-job https://www.calltherightattorney.com/blog/2022/11/can-i-be-fired-for-refusing-to-do-work-outside-my-job-description/#:~:text=Can%20I%20be%20legally%20fire,dictated%20at%20the%20times%20required
https://caul-cbua.pressbooks.pub/aep/chapter/rights-and-privileges/ https://www.differencebetween.com/difference-between-rights-and-vs-obligation/