Talking about reasonable adjustments

Raising awareness

It makes business sense to make reasonable adjustments. By making them, you’re giving disabled staff the support they need to do their jobs. This includes those with long-term health conditions.

But some employees may not feel comfortable sharing their experiences. A strong statement from senior staff can help employees feel confident in the adjustments process.

Build the conversation about reasonable adjustments into:

• one to ones
• disciplinary meetings
• back to work interviews
• performance reviews

This helps make sure you’ve embedded reasonable adjustments into your organisation’s culture.

Starting the conversation

Most organisations have a reasonable adjustment policy. But many disabled employees choose not to discuss their access needs with employers. This decision should always sit with the employee.

If staff need reasonable adjustments, encourage them to talk to:

• their line manager
• a designated person in HR if they would prefer

Employers can provide disability awareness training for managers and team leaders. This will support them to introduce discussions around reasonable adjustments.

The manager can also ask the employee during a review if they feel they would benefit from adjustments. The manager should not assume what that reasonable adjustment should be, if any.

If the employee declines the offer to discuss reasonable adjustments, make a note of this. If the staff member feels that an adjustment would help, you can explore the options with them.

How to talk about reasonable adjustments

Where an employee asks for reasonable adjustments, they know best what will work for them. It’s good practice to ask the individual about what they need when you offer them employment.

Some people find it uncomfortable to discuss their needs if they must:

• provide medical evidence
• attend an occupational health assessment

Try to reassure employees if this is not the case. If you use Access to Work, you may need medical evidence to apply for help with traveling to work.

After you’ve made adjustments

Once you made reasonable adjustments, provide the employee with a record of these. This can move with them and help to make the transition to other departments smoother.