Reasonable Adjustments
- kevinndaws
- Jul 4
- 5 min read
Reasonable adjustments is a major issue for disabled workers and, unsurprisingly, it is the number one issue that trade union reps take up with their employers on behalf of their disabled members. The fact that this is the case shows that the provision of Reasonable Adjustments is not working. This is an issue I have written about in detail before What are Reasonable Adjustments?
It should be no surprise that it is an issue that was debated at this year's TUC Disabled Workers Conference as well as being debated in the past.
There was a grouped debate on Reasonable Adjustments this year where three motions were discussed in a common debate. My UCU colleague Cecily Blyther spoke in this debate and this is what she said:
We need Reasonable Adjustments so that we can have security in our work – the more insecure our job is, anything that can support us is all the more extremely important. Casualised and freelance workers tend to be sidelined by employers, but reasonable adjustments must be equally accessible to all who need them.
The Access to Work scheme has been designed well and the whole process must be followed correctly; it is especially well designed to analyse the huge variety of ways in which different people are disabled. Because of the many different possible adjustments that can be recommended for people who have been disabled in so many ways (… and here, I emphasise how it is society that has disabled every one of us …), it is necessary for there to be a trusted and uniform process for assessing and most important implementing Reasonable Adjustments.
For heaven’s sake, every single person is different; no one should actually be treated the same! So please, can we emphasise this to our blinkered employers?
The reasonable adjustment passport is necessary because of the different ways in which so many workers are disabled.
We need the TUC to support all union members and reps to fight for and to stand up for reasonable adjustments and have them implemented in a timely fashion.
If it were not for many people’s ingrained attitudes to anyone who presents differently and the institutional structures which support ableist behaviour, it would not ever be a big deal to arrange for the best way for each person to do their job.
Instead, in these motions we are tasking the TUC with supporting union reps to convince employers that no proof of any particular “disability” is required.
Employers duty
Currently employers have a legal duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled workers, but this is often poorly understood, resulting in discrimination that pushes disabled people out of the workforce.
Access to Work is a crucial form of support for many workers but has been under attack recently accompanied by the negative rhetoric about social security benefits for disabled people
Significant delays persist across many sectors in the provision and implementation of reasonable adjustments, and the reality is that disabled workers are paying the price.
In her speech Cecily emphasised the importance of appropriate and timely
reasonable adjustments being provided in the workplace. This was highlighted by the Business Disability Forum’s ‘The Great Big Workplace Adjustments
Huge improvements still need to be made for disabled workers to find equitable employment. The Survey found that 1 in 8 disabled employees are waiting over a year for reasonable adjustments to be implemented.
Both managers and employees found processes for requesting adjustments, and even the use of workplace adjustment passports, too complicated and
frustrating.
The process of requesting reasonable adjustments should be simple and speedy, with clear policies and procedures to follow.
As Cecily pointed out in her speech, the primary cause of delays is the misconceived demand by employers that a worker first ‘prove’ their disability before adjustments are implemented.
Given the extensive wait times for most diagnostic and assessment procedures, the employer is effectively able to deny or delay adjustments. This is all too common an experience for disabled workers.
The First Division Association has also found that the casework that they have undertaken has highlighted the refusals of workplace adjustments with little detail for the justifications for refusal. Challenging refusals is difficult and time-consuming, leaving disabled workers without the resources needed for their work for extended periods.
We should remember that there is no obligation in the Equality Act for a worker to prove their disability, through medical diagnosis or otherwise. Employers may request some form of evidence or information, but they are still expected to take steps based on the information they have at the time, especially where obtaining evidence is difficult or delayed. A clearer understanding of this is required.
So what are we asking the TUC and employers to do? Here are a few suggestions:
Produce or amend guidance for union reps, in a short, accessible format, that clarifies a worker’s rights with regards ‘proving’ disability, including updating the TUC Reasonable Adjustment Passport
Lobbying for clear timescales for reasonable adjustments in employers’ policy documents.
Provide examples of where reasonable adjustments have been successfully implemented so that workers feel more confident in making requests.
raise awareness of the right to reasonable adjustments and what kind of adjustments exist, including for workers with chronic health issues such as Long Covid
provide signposting on assistive technology and tools to support disabled members in everyday life as well as at work
Provide a:
toolkit to affiliated unions with practical advice on what is ‘reasonable’ and on challenging refusals or delays in the provision of workplace adjustments
‘Know Your Rights’ resource for disabled members in the reasonable adjustment process.
At the end of the day Reasonable Adjustments need to be enforceable in a speedy and timely manner. I would suggest that the assessment for Reasonable Adjustments and the timetable for their implementation should be 4 weeks or 20 working days.
At the moment if the employer does not implement the reasonable adjustments identified the only recourse for the disabled worker is to take the employer to an Employment Tribunal which invariably leads to the disabled worker losing their job because ‘the relationship of trust has broken down’.
This is a totally unacceptable position to place a disabled worker, or indeed any worker, in.
Cecily also spoke about the impact on her personally of not receiving the reasonable adjustments when not one of the reasonable adjustments recommended by Access to Work had been implemented.
Resources
I wasnt aware that it was teh employers causing the delays but thought it was the system causing the backlogs. And also didnt know you had to prove your disability a lot of the time. I have quite a few disabled friends who have applied for jobs, then been offered and then had the offer withdrawn for made up reasons when they realise the person will be needing reasonable adjustments. There is an issue here as the people that I know who have had this happen, have not taken the issue any further as they feel that this will tar them in the future as being awkward to work with, lowering their chances of getting a job elsewhere. The sy…