Reasonable adjustments for workers with disabilities or health conditions

Employers must make reasonable adjustments to make sure workers with disabilities, or physical or mental health conditions, are not substantially disadvantaged when doing their jobs.

This applies to all workers, including trainees, apprentices, contract workers and business partners.

This guide is also available in Welsh (Cymraeg).

Reasonable adjustments include:

  • changing the recruitment process so a candidate can be considered for a job
  • doing things another way, such as allowing someone with social anxiety disorder to have their own desk instead of hot-desking
  • making physical changes to the workplace, like installing a ramp for a wheelchair user or an audio-visual fire alarm for a deaf person
  • letting a disabled person work somewhere else, such as on the ground floor for a wheelchair user
  • changing their equipment, for instance providing a special keyboard if they have arthritis
  • allowing employees who become disabled to make a phased return to work, including flexible hours or part-time working
  • offering employees training opportunities, recreation and refreshment facilities

Get help and advice

You can get advice on reasonable adjustments from the Disability Employment Adviser (DEA) at your local Jobcentre Plus office.

You can apply for Access to Work if you need extra help.

If you’re in Northern Ireland, find out about employment for people with disabilities or contact Access to Work (NI).

There’s more detail about employers’ obligations and how to meet them on the Equality and Human Rights Commission website.

Part of Employ someone: step by step

  1. Step 1 Check your business is ready to employ staff

    1. Prepare your business to take on employees

  2. Step 2 Recruit someone

    You need to advertise the role and interview candidates. You can use a recruitment agency to do this or do it yourself.

    1. Find out about recruiting someone yourself on Acas
    2. Find out about using a recruitment agency

    As an employer you must make sure you recruit employees fairly.

    1. Avoid discrimination during recruitment
    2. You are currently viewing: Make your application process accessible for employees with disabilities or health conditions

  3. and Check they have the right to work in the UK

    1. Find out how to check an applicant's right to work

  4. and Find out if they need a DBS check

    You may need to check someone's criminal record, for example, if they'll be working in healthcare or with children.

    1. Find out if you need a DBS check
    2. How to do a DBS check

  5. Step 3 Check if they need to be put into a workplace pension

    Check if you need to put your employee into a workplace pension scheme:

  6. Step 4 Agree a contract and salary

    When someone accepts a job offer they have a contract with you as their employer.

    1. Check what the National Minimum Wage is for different ages
    2. Check what the National Minimum Wage is for different types of work
    3. Check what to include in a contract
    4. Agree a written statement of employment particulars

  7. Step 5 Tell HMRC about your new employee

    You must tell HMRC about your new employee on or before their first pay day.

    1. Tell HMRC about a new employee
    2. Get their personal details and P45 to work out their tax code
    3. If you don’t have their P45, use HMRC’s ‘starter checklist’
    4. Check what to do when you start paying your employee

Also part of