Reasonable adjustments for disabled workers

If a disability is making your shift harder or less safe, send your manager one short message today: name the barrier and ask for one change that would help. You should not lose work because a workable adjustment was never tried. Your employer may have a legal duty to act, and you cannot be charged for a reasonable adjustment.

Who counts as disabled?

Protection does not turn on a diagnosis. It turns on effect. Under section 6 of the Equality Act 2010, you are disabled if you have a physical or mental impairment with a substantial, long-term adverse effect on normal day-to-day activities. “Substantial” means more than minor or trivial. It does not mean you must be unable to work.

Long-term means the effect has lasted, or is likely to last, at least 12 months, or for the rest of your life. You do not have to wait a year to ask. A substantial effect that comes and goes counts as continuing if it is likely to recur. For work claims, normal day-to-day activities include participating fully and effectively in working life on an equal basis with other workers.

Autism, ADHD, dyslexia, dyspraxia, Tourette’s, depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder can all qualify. The name alone does not settle it. Describe what happens when you read, concentrate, communicate, remember instructions or manage everyday tasks, including how long tasks take and the effort involved. A formal diagnosis is not essential, but evidence of the effects and their likely duration matters. Under Schedule 1, the test generally considers what the effects would be without treatment or aids. Ordinary glasses and contact lenses are an exception.

Cancer, HIV infection and multiple sclerosis count as disabilities from diagnosis, without that effect test. You are also deemed disabled if a consultant ophthalmologist certifies you as blind, severely sight impaired, sight impaired or partially sighted, under the Disability Regulations. Special rules also cover severe disfigurement and progressive conditions. Menopause symptoms and long COVID can qualify under the effect test. See our guide to mental health discrimination at work for depression and anxiety.

What the duty requires

Section 20 sets out three routes to an adjustment. If any puts you at a substantial disadvantage compared with people who are not disabled, the employer must take reasonable steps to avoid it:

1. Change a rule or way of working. The legal term is a “provision, criterion or practice”. It includes start times, absence triggers, performance targets, hot-desking, rotas and disciplinary procedures.
2. Address a physical feature. Steps, doors, lighting, desk layout, toilets and parking can all create barriers. Removing the feature, altering it or providing a reasonable way around it may help.
3. Provide an aid or service. A screen reader, accessible instructions, an interpreter or additional support may be needed. An auxiliary aid includes an auxiliary service.

Failure to make a reasonable adjustment is itself discrimination under section 21. You must identify the disadvantage, but you do not need to find a named colleague who was treated better. Once a step is found reasonable, the employer cannot justify failing to take it by pointing to a business aim. This differs from section 15, discrimination arising from disability. That covers unfavourable treatment because of something arising from disability, such as absence or errors. The employer can defend it by showing the treatment was a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim, or that it did not know and could not reasonably have known about the disability.

The work provisions cover applicants, employees, apprentices and many other people contracted to do work personally. Agency workers can have protection against both the agency and the hirer. Calling someone “self-employed” does not settle coverage. A genuinely independent business serving a client may fall outside these employment provisions, but some self-employed contractors are covered. Check your employment status. Protection against direct discrimination, harassment and victimisation also matters; see our Equality Act guide.

What could change at work?

Start with the barrier, not a standard list of things offered to everyone with the same diagnosis. A quiet room is useful only if you can use it when you need it. An adjusted absence trigger may matter more than a new piece of equipment.

In care, that might mean a written handover or a rota adjusted around treatment; in hospitality or retail, a later start or a quieter break space; in a warehouse, delivery or cleaning job, changed equipment, task instructions or a safer route through the shift. In health work, accessible alarms and a workable evacuation plan matter. The right change depends on the barrier and the job.

Acas’s reasonableness guidance asks whether a change will work, is practical and affordable, and could harm other people’s health and safety. The employer’s resources and available funding matter. A suitable existing vacancy or a trial in another role may be reasonable where changes to your current role will not work. There is no general duty to create a new job or remove the basic nature of the work. Cost can make a particular proposal unreasonable, but the employer must still make other adjustments that are reasonable.

Ask for the change, explain the barrier

You can ask verbally or in writing. There is no prescribed form and no need for a lawyer’s letter. Writing helps because it records what you told the employer and when. Send the request to your manager or the person named in the adjustments policy. A union rep can help you prepare it, but telling your union alone does not necessarily tell your employer.

If you are exhausted after a shift, keep the first request small: write down the task that is going wrong, the change that could help and when you need an answer. UNISON represents many health and care workers; USDAW represents shop and retail workers; Unite and GMB organise across sectors including hospitality, care and logistics. A union rep can help you put the request in writing or challenge a refusal.

1. Describe the disadvantage. Explain how the condition affects a part of your work. “During fast verbal handovers I lose track and miss instructions” tells the employer more than the diagnosis alone.
2. Ask for a specific change. For example, request a written task list before each shift and a 15-minute weekly check-in. Explain why it would help, and discuss alternatives.
3. Give relevant evidence. A fit note, specialist report or occupational-health assessment may help explain the effects and likely duration. The evidence needed depends on the request, not a fixed price threshold. You do not normally need to hand over your entire medical record.
4. Agree a response date. Ask when you will meet, who will decide and what can be done meanwhile. Unreasonable delay can breach the duty. There is no universal statutory deadline for deciding an adjustments request.
5. Record and review the agreement. Set out the change, start date and review date in writing. Check whether it works in practice, and revisit it when your duties or health change.

If you are an employee, you can also use the statutory flexible-working procedure for changes to hours or location. In Great Britain, you can make two requests in any 12 months. The employer must decide within two months unless you agree an extension, and consult before refusing. That process is separate from the adjustments duty. Its request limit and eight business grounds for refusal do not decide whether an Equality Act adjustment is reasonable. You do not have to use both routes. Further flexible-working reforms are scheduled for 2027, not in force on 1 October 2026.

What to disclose, and what employers can ask

You do not have to share every medical detail. But the employer needs enough information to recognise your disability and likely disadvantage. Under Schedule 8, paragraph 20, it has a defence if it neither knew nor could reasonably have been expected to know. It cannot simply ignore signs that reasonably call for enquiries. A diagnosis label is not the same as understanding the effect on your work. Ask who will see medical information and what functional information your manager needs.

Before a job offer, section 60 restricts health and disability questions. Exceptions include arranging assessment adjustments, checking an intrinsic job function, diversity monitoring, positive action and a disability-related occupational requirement. An employer can ask whether you need an accessible interview room. A general question about your medical history would not fit that exception. After an offer, health questions are permitted, but discrimination is still unlawful. Recruitment adjustments might include extra time, accessible tests or a quieter interview, depending on what is reasonable.

A refusal needs more than “we treat everyone the same”

Your employer does not have to grant your preferred adjustment if another reasonable change effectively addresses the disadvantage. It can refuse a proposal that would not help, is impractical or is unaffordable in its circumstances. Equal treatment is not an answer to a disability-related barrier. Ask for the reasons, the evidence behind them and any alternatives it has considered.

Consultation, relevant medical advice and a trial can help establish what works. They are not a substitute for making a reasonable adjustment. Equally, a poor consultation process is not automatically a standalone breach of this duty if no reasonable step was missed. The legal question is whether the employer failed to take a step it should reasonably have taken. An indefinite wait for occupational health or funding is not a safe answer where a workable interim change is available.

The employer pays. Access to Work can add support

Section 20(7) prevents the employer from charging you for a reasonable adjustment. Access to Work can fund additional support, including equipment, a job coach, disability-related travel costs or communication support at interviews. It does not replace the employer’s duty or pay for changes the employer is legally required to make. The price of an item alone does not tell you which route should pay for it.

The annual cap is £69,260 for grants awarded or reviewed between 1 April 2026 and 31 March 2027. That is a ceiling, not an entitlement. You generally need to be aged at least 16 and living and working in Great Britain. Paid work, a job offer or start date can qualify; interview communication support is also available. Employed applicants need a contract and pay of at least the National Minimum Wage. For self-employment, the factsheet sets an annual turnover threshold of £6,500 and asks new businesses for a business plan. Northern Ireland has a separate scheme.

Absence, discipline and dismissal

A warning or dismissal for disability-related absence, errors or conduct can engage section 15 as well as the adjustments duty. If the employer knew or should have known about your disability, it must justify the unfavourable treatment as proportionate to a legitimate aim. Safe staffing may be a legitimate aim; that does not establish that dismissal was necessary. The tribunal considers alternatives, including adjusted absence triggers, a phased return, changed targets or a suitable vacancy.

The process may need adjustments too, such as accessible papers, rest breaks or an appropriate supporter at a hearing. There is no blanket immunity from disciplinary action and no automatic right to disregard every disability-related absence. But the employer must assess your circumstances rather than apply its policy mechanically. See discipline during sick leave, sick leave rights and dismissal because of illness.

Challenge the refusal without losing your deadline

Follow up in writing, identify what remains unresolved and ask for a response date. If needed, raise a formal grievance. Keep your requests, the employer’s responses, relevant medical evidence and a dated record of how the barrier affects your work. You can contact Acas while the grievance is still underway. Internal procedures do not stop the tribunal clock.

For free help, contact Citizens Advice or a local law centre, and ask your union about representation. The Equality and Human Rights Commission publishes guidance and takes reports about discrimination; if the barrier creates a workplace safety risk, report it to the Health and Safety Executive. Keep copies of every request and response. A grievance does not pause the tribunal deadline.

For most claims in Great Britain, you must notify Acas before you submit a claim. Acas offers early conciliation; you do not have to agree a settlement. Compensation for discrimination has no statutory cap. It can include proven financial loss and injury to feelings. The Vento guidance for claims presented on or after 6 April 2026 sets a lower band of £1,300 to £12,600, a middle band of £12,600 to £37,700 and an upper band of £37,700 to £62,900. Exceptional cases can exceed the upper band. These are guidelines, not a tariff for a refused request. An award depends on the harm proved; psychiatric injury is a separate issue.

Failure to adjust is especially easy to misdate. Under section 123, an omission can be timed from a decision not to act, an inconsistent act or the end of the period in which the employer could reasonably have been expected to act. Do not assume each unanswered email restarts time. Continuing conduct and cases crossing 1 October need individual advice. A tribunal can extend a discrimination deadline if it considers that just and equitable, but you should not rely on an extension.

The tribunal can also make a declaration and recommend steps to reduce the adverse effect on you. For the process, see how to bring a tribunal claim and how to make a discrimination complaint.

Safety, evacuation and accessible buildings

HSE guidance says there is no requirement for a separate risk assessment simply because a worker is disabled. When the employer becomes aware of your disability, it should review its existing assessment to check that it covers any risk to you. It should discuss the work with you, not assume you are unsafe or exclude you because of your diagnosis.

If you need help leaving the building in an emergency, agree a personal emergency evacuation plan. It may require accessible alarms, trained assistance or evacuation equipment. A refuge or a named buddy alone is not a complete plan. The arrangements must provide a way to reach safety, not rely on the fire service to get you out. Fire-safety law differs across the UK. See our guides to employer health and safety duties and fire and evacuation plans.

Changes to entrances, toilets, parking, lighting and workstations may be reasonable adjustments. If you work at home, consider the workstation and equipment there too. See home and hybrid working safety, work-related back pain and accessible workplace design.

If an evacuation or other workplace safety risk remains, report it to the HSE and keep a dated record of what you raised. Your union, Citizens Advice or a law centre can help you decide what to do next.

Make the agreement survive a change of manager

A written adjustments record or “passport” saves you having to explain everything again when you move teams. Record what helps, who is responsible and when to review it. A named contact and a clear response target help too. A two-week target is a policy choice, not a legal deadline. Neither a manager’s departure nor an expired review date means the underlying duty disappears. Union equality reps and staff networks can help identify recurring barriers.

Your needs may involve more than one protected characteristic. Menopause symptoms can meet the disability test; see menopause at work. A disabled LGBTQ+ worker may also face harassment related to sexual orientation or gender reassignment. The legal tests apply to each claim, rather than a single combined characteristic. See LGBTQ+ rights and discrimination on more than one ground.

Sick pay and benefits alongside adjustments

An Equality Act disability does not automatically qualify you for a benefit, and a benefit assessment does not decide whether your employer owes you adjustments. The tests are different. These are the main income supports to check.

Statutory sick pay

From 6 April 2026, eligible employees receive SSP of £123.25 a week or 80% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower, for up to 28 weeks. There is no lower earnings limit or waiting period. Payment is for full sick days you would normally work, not every calendar day. At average earnings of £100 a week, 80% is £80. At £200, 80% is £160, so the £123.25 ceiling applies. Those are full-week figures, before deductions. SSP is not an entitlement for everyone protected by the Equality Act. See our SSP guide for eligibility and linked absences.

PIP and Adult Disability Payment

PIP is not means-tested and can be paid while you work. In 2026/27, weekly daily-living rates are £76.70 standard or £114.60 enhanced; mobility rates are £30.30 standard or £80 enhanced. Entitlement depends on how your condition affects the relevant activities. Taking a job does not itself end PIP, but changes in your needs may affect the award and must be reported. Scotland uses Adult Disability Payment, with the same 2026/27 rates.

Universal Credit

Universal Credit is means-tested and can be paid in or out of work. Its extra amount for limited capability for work and work-related activity, or LCWRA, is not automatic when you report a condition. From 6 April 2026, the monthly rates are £429.80 and £217.26. The higher rate protects qualifying people who reported their condition before that date, existing LCWRA recipients and certain people transferring from the ESA support group. It also covers people meeting the severe, lifelong-condition criteria or nearing the end of life. The lower rate generally applies to later declarations without those protections.

Scotland and Northern Ireland

The Equality Act duty applies in England, Scotland and Wales. The six-month discrimination limit for acts on or after 1 October 2026 applies across Great Britain. Acas notes a separate Scottish transition for breach-of-contract claims on 9 November 2026; that exception does not change this guide’s discrimination deadline. Scotland’s Adult Disability Payment has its own administration. Fire-safety legislation also differs, so do not treat every UK rule as identical.

In Northern Ireland, disability discrimination at work falls under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, as amended, not the Equality Act. A broadly similar adjustments duty applies, but the legal provisions and procedures are different. Claims go to the industrial tribunal. Schedule 3, paragraph 3 retains a three-month limit, normally expressed as three months minus one day, subject to the local conciliation extension rules. Contact the Labour Relations Agency promptly and ask the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland for equality advice. The Great Britain six-month change does not replace this deadline. See Northern Ireland employment law.

Start with what gets in the way of your work, then ask what would change it.

Questions people ask

Does ADHD or dyslexia automatically count as a disability?

No. The substantial, long-term effect test applies. You do not need to wait 12 months if the effect is already likely to last that long. Explain the effects on everyday activities and working life, including what they would be without treatment or aids.

Can I ask for hybrid working as an adjustment?

Yes, if it would address your disability-related disadvantage and is reasonable for your job. You can ask under the Equality Act without making a statutory flexible-working request. Employees can also use that separate route, but it does not replace the adjustment duty.

Can my employer charge me for equipment?

Not if providing it is a reasonable adjustment. The employer must pay. Access to Work may fund additional support, but its annual cap is not a promise to fund a particular item and a pending application does not remove the employer’s duty.

Can I be dismissed for disability-related absence?

It can be lawful, but applying an absence policy without considering your disability and reasonable adjustments is risky. Where the employer knew or should have known about the disability, unfavourable treatment arising from it needs objective justification under section 15. The employer must also meet the adjustments duty.

What if colleagues or customers harass me about my disability?

Report what happened, when and who was involved. Employers can be liable for harassment by staff in the course of employment unless they took all reasonable steps to prevent it. New third-party harassment duties are scheduled for 30 October 2026 in Great Britain. Before then, do not assume customer abuse leaves you without protection: the employer’s own response may breach existing duties. Seek advice on the facts.

How long do I have to claim?

In Great Britain, acts on or after 1 October 2026 generally have six months minus one day; earlier acts generally have three months minus one day. Notify Acas within that limit. Conciliation affects the final filing deadline; a grievance does not. Omissions and continuing conduct need careful dating. Northern Ireland disability claims retain a three-month limit, normally minus one day, subject to local conciliation rules.

Sources

1. Equality Act 2010, including sections 6, 15, 20, 21, 60 and 123 and Schedules 1 and 8, legislation.gov.uk
2. Equality Act 2010 Disability Regulations, regulation 7, legislation.gov.uk
3. Employment Rights Act 2025, legislation.gov.uk
4. Employment Rights Act tribunal time-limit transitional provisions, regulation 4, legislation.gov.uk
5. Reasonable adjustments for disabled workers, GOV.UK
6. Reasonable adjustments at work, Acas
7. Employment tribunal time limits, Acas, updated 1 October 2026
8. Disabled workers’ access to reasonable adjustments, TUC, May 2025
9. The Access to Work scheme: processing delays and backlogs, National Audit Office, March 2026
10. Statutory flexible-working requests, Acas
11. Vento bands, ninth addendum, claims from 6 April 2026, judiciary.uk
12. Statutory Sick Pay: what you’ll get and employer entitlement guidance, GOV.UK
13. Access to Work factsheet, GOV.UK
14. Personal Independence Payment rates, GOV.UK
15. Universal Credit amounts and LCWRA rate criteria, GOV.UK
16. Adult Disability Payment, mygov.scot
17. Risk assessment and disabled workers, HSE
18. Means of escape for disabled people, GOV.UK
19. Disability discrimination law: employment rights, nidirect
20. Disability Discrimination Act 1995, Northern Ireland claim time limits, legislation.gov.uk
21. Employment Rights Act implementation timetable, GOV.UK, updated 25 September 2026
22. Employment Statutory Code of Practice, EHRC