A manager's guide to reasonable adjustments at work

If you manage people in the UK, you have a legal duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled employees under the Equality Act 2010. But most managers I speak to say the same thing: 'I want to do the right thing, I'm just not sure what that looks like in practice.' This guide is written for you — the manager who wants to get it right, not the lawyer looking for loopholes.

What is a reasonable adjustment?

A reasonable adjustment is a change to how, when or where someone works that removes or reduces a disadvantage they experience because of a disability or long-term health condition. The duty applies when you know — or could reasonably be expected to know — that someone is disabled. It applies to recruitment, day-to-day work, progression and how you manage performance and absence.

The word 'reasonable' matters. What's reasonable depends on the size of your organisation, the cost, the practicality, and how effective the adjustment would be. In most cases, adjustments cost very little — and the ones that cost more are often eligible for support through the government's Access to Work scheme.

Common examples of reasonable adjustments

• Flexible or hybrid working hours to manage fatigue, medical appointments or energy levels.
• Ergonomic equipment — chairs, keyboards, standing desks, footrests, voice amplifiers, screen-reading software.
• Changes to the physical environment — quieter workspace, better lighting, accessible parking, step-free routes.
• Adjusted duties — reallocating specific tasks that create a disadvantage, or changing how a task is done.
• More time or a different format for tasks and assessments — written instead of verbal, or vice versa.
• Extra breaks, phased return-to-work plans, or reduced hours during a flare-up.
• Coaching, mentoring or a workplace buddy.
• Adjusting how you communicate — captions in meetings, written follow-ups, agendas in advance.

How to have the conversation

The reasonable adjustments conversation is where most managers get stuck. Here is a simple structure that works:

• 1. Create the space. Ask privately, without a laptop between you. 'Is there anything about how you work, or the environment, that we could change to help you do your best work?' You do not need a diagnosis to act.
• 2. Listen first, solve second. The person in front of you is the expert on their condition. Your job is to understand impact, not to interrogate the medical detail.
• 3. Agree what to try. Write it down — what, who owns it, by when, and how you'll know it's working.
• 4. Get support. Occupational Health, Access to Work, your ERG and your HR team are all there to help. You don't need to figure it out alone.
• 5. Review it. Conditions change. Adjustments that worked last year may not work now. Build a light-touch check-in into your one-to-ones.
• 6. Make it portable. When the person changes team or role, the adjustments should travel with them — via a passport document or handover — so they don't have to re-explain their disability every time.

What NOT to do

• Don't wait for a formal request. The duty is anticipatory.
• Don't ask for a diagnosis or medical proof as a gatekeeper. Occupational Health can advise on impact and adjustments.
• Don't assume the adjustment will be expensive, disruptive or 'unfair' to the rest of the team.
• Don't rely on the employee to explain the law to you. That's your job to learn.
• Don't treat the conversation as one-and-done. It's an ongoing relationship.

The business case is real — but so is the human one

Employees whose adjustments are met are more engaged, stay longer, take less sick leave and are more likely to speak up when something isn't working. But beyond the numbers, this is about basic dignity — the ability to do your job without having to fight to be believed. If you get this right as a manager, you become the manager everyone wants to work for.

Support for managers

I coach managers and design manager training on disability confidence, reasonable adjustments and inclusive leadership. If your organisation wants to build managers who handle this well by default — not by luck — let's talk.