EU approach to reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities

The article contains the analysis of EU standards for reasonable accommodation and tries to clarify their nature, scope and main types. Two hypotheses have been formulated in the research process. Firstly, both the legal provisions and the case law of the CJEU recognise that the concept of reasonable accommodation should be broad and flexible at the same time and treat it as important instrument for ensuring substantive equality of the workers with disabilities. Secondly, despite EU regulations on reasonable accommodation, employers do not always fulfill their obligation in a way that takes into account the individual needs of the people with disabilities. Consequently, the first part of the article concentrates on the EU legal framework for the obligation of reasonable accommodation, taking into account the sources of primary and secondary law and their mutual relations. Then, the most important decisions of the CJEU concerning this concept are presented, including those given in 2021-2022. The last part of the article focuses on the assessment of the legal nature and scope of reasonable accommodation, as well as identifies their common types and examples.

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