Reasonable Adjustments at Work: Equality Act 2010

It is not enough for employers to provide disabled people with exactly the same working conditions as non-disabled people. The duty comprises three requirements. A failure to comply with that duty to make reasonable adjustments is disability discrimination.

Where the first or third requirement relates to the provision of information, the steps it is reasonable for the employer to have to take include steps for ensuring that the information is provided in an accessible format. Subject to express provision to the contrary, the employer is not entitled to require a disabled person to pay any of its costs of complying with the duty.

The law says employers must make reasonable adjustments for:

• ✓Yes: Employees and workers
• ✓Yes: Contractors and self-employed people hired to personally do the work
• ✓Yes: Job applicants

Employers must make reasonable adjustments when:

• ✓Yes: They know, or could reasonably be expected to know, someone is disabled
• ✓Yes: A disabled staff member or job applicant asks for adjustments
• ✓Yes: Someone who is disabled is having difficulty with any part of their job
• ✓Yes: Someone's absence record, sickness record or delay in returning to work is because of, or linked to, their disability

Under section 6 of the Equality Act 2010, you have a disability if you have a physical or mental impairment, and the impairment has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on your ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. Substantial is more than minor or trivial. An effect is long-term if it has lasted for at least 12 months, is likely to last for at least 12 months, or is likely to last for the rest of your life.

These count:

• ✓Yes: You do not need a medical diagnosis, as long as you can still show a substantial and long-term adverse effect on your day-to-day activities
• ✓Yes: Cancer, HIV infection and multiple sclerosis are each a disability
• ✓Yes: Being certified as blind, severely sight impaired, sight impaired or partially sighted by a consultant ophthalmologist makes you deemed to have a disability
• ✓Yes: A severe disfigurement is treated as having a substantial adverse effect on your normal day-to-day activities
• ✓Yes: A progressive condition counts as soon as it starts to affect your normal day-to-day activities, as long as this is likely to be long-term, and the effect does not have to be substantial as long as it is likely to become substantial in the future
• ✓Yes: Effects that come and go can still count: an impairment is treated as continuing to have a substantial adverse effect if that effect is likely to recur
• ✓Yes: A past disability is covered: the Act applies to a person who has had a disability as it applies to a person who has one
• ✓Yes: Poor mental health could be considered a disability, even if you do not have symptoms all the time

Reasonable adjustments are specific to an individual person. They can be for physical or mental health conditions, and they can cover any area of work. Some disabled people might not need or want adjustments, although this might change over time.

Finding a different way to do something, for example:

• Giving someone more time to do written or reading tests that are part of an interview
• Distributing work differently within a team
• Giving someone different responsibilities or offering another suitable role
• Finding a different way to train someone if they find classroom-based training difficult

Making changes to the workplace, for example:

• Changing the lighting above someone's desk or workstation
• Changing the layout of a work area or the entrance to a building
• Providing an accessible car parking space
• Holding a job interview in a room that is accessible for someone who uses a wheelchair

Changing someone's working arrangements, for example:

• Changing someone's working patterns
• Distributing someone's breaks more evenly across the day
• Flexible working, including home or hybrid working
• Reasonable adjustments for absence, including paid time off for medical appointments and treatment
• A phased return to work after absence

Providing equipment, services or support, for example:

• Providing extra or adapted equipment, such as chairs, computer software and phones
• Providing emails and documents in an accessible format
• Giving one-to-one support, for example to help someone prioritise their work
• Providing other specialist support, for example a sign language interpreter

What is reasonable depends on each situation. The employer must consider carefully if the adjustment will remove or reduce the disadvantage, is practical to make, is affordable, and could harm the health and safety of others. The employer should talk with the person and not make assumptions.

The employer does not have to change the basic nature of the job. For example, someone in a call centre asks for a job that does not involve taking calls. This might not be reasonable if there is no other job to give them. An employer does not have to make adjustments that are unreasonable. However, they should still find other ways to support the disabled person, which could include making other adjustments that are reasonable.

The employer is responsible for paying for any reasonable adjustments. Many adjustments will be simple and affordable. However, a small employer might not be able to afford as much as a large organisation. Example: an employee who uses a wheelchair asks for a lift to be installed so they can get to the upper floors, and the employer finds the cost would be damaging to their business. The employer can turn down the request because it is not reasonable for them, but they must make other workplace adjustments that are reasonable, for example so the employee can do their job entirely on the ground floor.

If an employer does not make reasonable adjustments for someone at work or a job applicant, it could be a type of disability discrimination. Where the employer believes a suggested adjustment is not reasonable, it should talk with the disabled person, explain its decision, and try to find another way to support them, for example by making other adjustments that are reasonable.

Your options are:

• Make an informal or formal complaint to your employer or potential employer
• Raise the problem informally first, then raise a grievance if you have already tried to resolve things informally but it did not work, or you feel the situation is too serious to be resolved informally
• Before you make a claim to an employment tribunal, tell Acas, which will offer early conciliation that is voluntary
• If the problem is not resolved, make a claim to an employment tribunal

If an employment tribunal finds a contravention, it may make a declaration as to the rights of you and your employer, order your employer to pay you compensation, or make an appropriate recommendation. The Home Office tells employers that if a discrimination claim is upheld, the tribunal will normally order the employer to pay compensation, for which there is no upper limit. For claims presented on or after 6 April 2026, the Vento bands for injury to feelings are a lower band of £1,300 to £12,600 for less serious cases, a middle band of £12,600 to £37,700 for cases that do not merit an award in the upper band, and an upper band of £37,700 to £62,900 for the most serious cases, with the most exceptional cases capable of exceeding £62,900.

If you feel you have to resign because of discrimination, this might be constructive dismissal, and you might be able to make a claim to an employment tribunal. Resigning is a big step to take, so consider it very carefully. In most cases, give your employer a chance to resolve the problem before you consider leaving.