Applying for reasonable adjustments

What are reasonable adjustments?

You are the expert in how your condition affects you and will know your job well enough to judge what reasonable adjustments could make a difference to how you manage work.

Reasonable adjustments might include specialist equipment, adjustments to your role, or a change to your work pattern that will remove some of the problems you face at work. However, we understand that it can also be hard to know exactly what is available or what could make a difference to you.  

Some examples of reasonable adjustments in the workplace are shared within the EHRC website, with videos of those who have applied for adjustments. These may help you consider your own situation and how they could apply. Working together with your manager or workplace support can help you to identify what would work and how it could be implemented.

To help you identify what you need, consider these five points:

1. Know your rights: Do some research, check out your company’s policies and advice for staff on sick leave, flexible working, disability. If you are unsure where to find the information, your manager, HR, Health & Safety, or union rep should be able to signpost you. Organisations such as ACAS and GovUK website as well as your union website will have information on your rights within the workplace.
2. Speak with your employer about your workplace needs, this could be your line manager, Human Resources, an Occupational Health practitioner or your Health and Safety representative. 
3. If you are a member of a trade union, your union rep can be a good source of support. The union website will often have helpful information too.
4. Disability Employment advisers and work coaches within your local job centre can provide information or refer you to support to help you remain in or return to work.
5. An Occupational Therapist (OT) can often provide you with advice on what might help you within work, as well as support any application for adjustments.

Combined, working on improving your understanding of your condition, and strategies to manage it, along with reasonable adjustments from your employer or the Government's Access to Work scheme can help you remain in or return to work.

When preparing to ask for adjustments or support, it can be useful to discuss with someone you trust and/or write them down. We have created a document, ‘Work adjustments planner’. This is aimed at helping you assess how your condition impacts on work and identify what would help to address the barriers to work. With sections where you can record your symptoms and how they impact on your work.

Listed below are some questions to consider if your condition is impacting on your capacity to work:

• What work tasks do you feel need to be reviewed, adapted, or removed to make your role manageable?
• Can you swap some tasks and find alternative tasks you can do instead?
• Is there specialist equipment, computer software or training that may help make your job easier?
• Consider your hours and location; would you benefit from working from home, flexible or reduced hours, shorter working week, or longer breaks between work days?
• Remember to consider those periods when your condition fluctuates or flares, you start new treatment, or experience a setback. You may need additional support to help you continue to work, over and above what you have already agreed during the times when your condition is stable.
• Do you know if you need a health and safety review to ensure you are working safely?
• Is travel to and from work part of the problem, do you have times when you struggle to drive safely, or travel on public transport?
• Consider who can help you work through this – manager, HR staff, job centre staff, union rep, occupational therapist, employment adviser, local advice service?
• Would you benefit from an Occupational Health, Ergonomic or Access to Work assessment to help you identify what you need?

Megan and Gary share examples of adjustments agreed with their employer:

Writing down what you need and agreeing adjustments or changes to your work routine can be a good way of ensuring that you have an agreement. This can also be useful if there is a change of management or review of jobs within the company.

Access to Work scheme

While you can discuss and agree reasonable adjustments with your employer, you may find these are not enough to remove the barriers you face. You may also need specialist equipment and support which can be funded through the Government's Access to Work scheme.