Employers MUST make reasonable adjustments to make sure disabled workers are not substantially disadvantaged when doing their jobs. This includes people who are neurodivergent and/ or have physical, sensory or mental health conditions.
This applies to ALL workers, including job applicants, trainees, apprentices, contract and self-employed workers and business partners.
What is a reasonable adjustment?
Reasonable adjustments are changes an employer makes to remove or reduce a disadvantage related to someone’s disability, for example:
- finding a different way to do something
- making changes to the workplace
- changing someone’s working arrangements
- providing equipment, services or support
The employer must consider if the adjustment will remove or reduce the disadvantage and is practical and affordable to make.
Reasonable adjustments are specific to an individual person, it is not enough to provide disabled people with exactly the same working conditions and non-disabled people.
An employer does not have to make adjustments that are unreasonable or change the basic nature of the job. For example, the employer may find the cost of an adjustment, such as installing a lift for an employee who is a wheelchair user, to be damaging to their business.
However, they should still find other ways to support the disabled person, such as making changes so that the employee can do their job entirely on the ground floor.
Employers must make reasonable adjustments when:
- they know, or could reasonably be expected to know, someone is disabled
- a disabled staff member or job applicant asks for adjustments
- someone who’s disabled is having difficulty with any part of their job
- someone’s absence record, sickness record or delay in returning to work is because of, or linked to, their disability.
The employer must also:
- make reasonable adjustments for anything linked to someone’s disability – for example an organisation might not allow dogs at work but make a reasonable adjustment for someone with an assistance dog.
- make sure other people do what’s needed for a reasonable adjustment to work – for example if someone needs information presented in a certain format, making sure other people at work do that.
An employer should confirm any agreed reasonable adjustments in writing.
If an employee has a mental health problem, their employer should take it seriously, with the same care as for physical illness.
Nobody has to tell their employer – or potential employer – they’re disabled. But when they do, the employer has a legal responsibility to support them.
If an employer does not make reasonable adjustments for someone at work or a job applicant, it could be a type of disability discrimination. This type of disability discrimination is called ‘failure to make reasonable adjustments’.
Access to Work is a government scheme. It helps disabled people and those with a physical or mental health condition to get or stay in work. You might be eligible for a grant to help pay for practical support. See www.gov.uk/access-to-work
This is not a substitute for the employer’s legal obligation to make reasonable adjustments or pay for them.
More advice and examples are available on the ACAS website at www.acas.org.uk/reasonable-adjustments
The general basis for the rights listed in this document is the Equality Act 2010 which legally protects people from discrimination in the workplace and wider society.
DISCRIMINATED AGAINST AT WORK? NEED SUPPORT?
WANT TO LEARN MORE?
Get in touch!
Email: salt_union@proton.me
Instagram: @_salt_union
ACAS helpline: 0300 123 1100
© Solidarity Across Land Trades 2025 