Reasonable Adjustments are Necessary Adjustments
- kevinndaws
- 4 days ago
- 5 min read
Most years we have a debate about Reasonable Adjustments at the TUC Disabled Workers Conference and this year was no exception but the UCU had submitted an amendment, which was accepted, saying that Reasonable Adjustments should in the future be called ‘Necessary Adjustments’ because they are not optional.
Mark Anthony Bastiani of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) moved Motion 10 Reasonable Adjustments in the Workplace as amended. This is what he said in his speech moving the motion:
Each year we have the same debates on these issues and still employers and governments are not being held to account.
More cases are going to the employment tribunal figures show on disability discrimination.
Figures shows that disability discrimination complaints reached 3,481 in Q3 2025/26, up 99% year-on-year.
The fastest-growing major claim type over the past year, disability discrimination claims are defined under the Equality Act 2010 and cover various forms of discrimination, including direct and indirect discrimination, failure to make reasonable adjustments, and discrimination arising from disability.
The average case for disability discrimination takes 34 weeks to clear, which is three weeks longer than the all-claims average. There is a predicted backlog of around 60,000 which in turn means that you are waiting much longer than the 34 weeks.
The pressure on the tribunal system and our members is increasing due to the rise in the volume and complexity of claims, with complex open track claims now making up around 61% of single claims nationally.
The nature of claims has changed, with complex cases taking longer to manage and hear, often requiring multiple preliminary hearings and more detailed case management.
Conference Published on 15th January 2026: Disability Confident scheme overhauled to boost workplace standards for disabled people. While around two thirds of employers agree that joining the scheme had a positive impact on their organisation, the landmark Keep Britain Working review by Sir Charlie Mayfield concluded that while it has many positive aspects it “lacks teeth.”
In response to the review, the Government is taking action to prevent ill-health, support people to stay in work, and help employers build healthier, more resilient workplaces. Overhauling the Disability Confident scheme is a key part of this.
This will involve trialling reforms through employers, alongside the work taking place in the Keep Britain Working Review Vanguards.
The Independent report Keep Britain Working: Final report: Updated 31 March 2026 highlighted:
Instead, we have been going in the wrong direction with 800,000 more people out of work now than in 2019 due to health problems. Without decisive action to address this trend, projections show we are on track to add another 600,000 by 2030. The trends are against us – ‘our society is getting older and living longer but becoming sicker sooner.
We believe as a union that we need to lobby the Secretary of State to provide greater enforcement powers to the EHRC against employers that fail to implement reasonable adjustments in a timely manner, including, but not limited to, highlighting those sectors that fail to implement reasonable adjustments on an annual basis. Reasonable adjustments should, in the future, be called 'Necessary Adjustments' because they are not optional.
I move.
Chair, conference, Jon Barr NAHT The school leaders union
I want to speak to support the importance of these ‘necessary’ reasonable adjustments and this motion.
This is my third Disabled Workers Conference. it has has not escaped my notice that on occasions each year, including 2026, we have heard from delegates that some school leaders and those who employ them have acted as inflexible gatekeepers to reasonable adjustments.
Some have shown they were ignorant of Access to Work adding further to that long wait.
Some have seemed unaware that many reasonable adjustments are actually no or very low cost.
We heard the delegate yesterday who described her school refusing to adapt to the adjustments she required to facilitate her effective return to work . Some members in our equality network in NAHT also know such refusal all too well.
The NAHT Leaders for Disabled Equality network this month saw our 2026 NAHT national conference in Belfast unanimously approve the motion we brought to it.
That motion celebrated that in April 2026 NAHT has published guidance on reasonable adjustment disability passports, a model policy for schools and a template passport. Our NAHT members now have all the tools needed to plan the necessary adjustments disabled workers in the schools they lead require and our conference decision is the next step in empowering schools and their leaders to use them effectively.
This motion and the continued inspiration of the TUC and our sibling trade unions will help us as a trade union to help our 39,000 members across schools in England, Northern Ireland and Wales align with the Equality Act 2010 and ensure that those who employ them and their staff follow their duties and the law.
On behalf of NAHT I ask conference to support this motion
If you, or your colleagues, have faced difficulties obtaining Reasonable Adjustments please tell us about your experiences in the comment box below this article.
Motion 10 - Reasonable Adjustments in the Workplace
Conference notes that despite the Equality Act 2010 making it abundantly clear what the responsibility is on employers in terms of their duty to make reasonable adjustments, we are still seeing people with disabilities face being managed out of the business when the implementation of an adjustment could avoid this.
At the CWU we believe that ‘knowledge is power’ and we have developed rep training that deconstructs the relevant sections of the Equality Act to enable employers to be robustly challenged by our reps, when our members face discrimination based on their disability.
Conference calls on the incoming Disabled Workers’ Committee to:
a) Organise similar training models for TUC affiliates
b) Campaign with ACAS to put pressure on employers to be compliant on disability law
c) Lobby the Secretary of State and call for the replacement of the Disability Confident scheme with something which is more than just a tick-box exercise and holds employers to account on failures around disability employment best practice.
d) Lobby the Secretary of State to provide greater enforcement powers to the EHRC against employers that fail to implement reasonable adjustments in a timely manner, including, but not limited to, highlighting those sectors that fail to implement reasonable adjustments on an annual basis. Reasonable adjustments should in the future be called 'Necessary Adjustments' because they are not optional.
Conference agrees that a report shall be provided to the 2027 Disability Conference to update on progress.