We receive many enquiries about whether reasonable adjustments should be, or should have been, made for an employee. There is also increasing publicity about neurodiversity including a survey by Prospect Union which highlights the need for employers to provide better support for neurodiverse tech workers. We have also taken note of an article written in the Law Society Gazette by solicitor JJ Thompson entitled “My experience with ‘reasonable adjustments’.”
Below we provide a general overview of the legal position in relation to reasonable adjustments at work.
What are reasonable adjustments?
Reasonable adjustments are changes or accommodations made to remove a substantial disadvantage faced by a disabled job applicant, employee or former employee in comparison with a non-disabled person. An example would be removing glass partitions in an open plan office that cause issues for someone with a sight impairment.
What is a substantial disadvantage?
Section 212(1) of the Equality Act 2010 (EQA) defines substantial as more than minor or trivial. This is low threshold, but full details of the disadvantage suffered should be provided by the person asking for the adjustment.
Does an employer have a duty to make reasonable adjustments?
Under Section 20 and Schedule 8 EQA, an employer may have a duty to make reasonable adjustments, for a disabled job applicant, employee or former employee, if a substantial disadvantage is caused by:
- a policy, rule or practice of the employer (commonly referred to as a PCP);
- a physical feature of the employer’s premises; or
- such a person’s need for an “auxiliary aid”.
An employer will only need to make reasonable adjustments if it knows or should know (a) the person is disabled and (b) the person is likely to suffer a substantial disadvantage.
Where an employer must consider making reasonable adjustments, it must take such steps as are reasonable to avoid the disadvantage. What adjustments may be reasonable in practice will depend on the circumstances at the time. The employer may consider factors like the impact of the proposed changes on its own resources. The person asking for the adjustment will need to be able to explain the link between the adjustment and the removal of the disadvantage. They will also need to show that the adjustment has a reasonable prospect of removing the disadvantage.
Possible adjustments
Paragraph 6.33 of the EHRC Code (which is an excellent resource for practitioners and lay people) lists several examples of adjustments that might be reasonable for an employer to make, including (among others):
- adjusting premises;
- providing information in accessible formats;
- distributing some of the person’s tasks to another employee;
- moving the person to a suitable alternative role if one is available;
- changing the person’s working hours or training; and
- moving the person to a different place of work.
In practice this is an area of disability discrimination law that often leads to disputes and disagreements in the workplace. It has also been the subject of a huge body of case law over the years and new cases are brought very frequently.
This blog was written by Ben Lindsay, Solicitor at didlaw.
