Reasonable Adjustments - the Equality Act 2010

During employment reasonable adjustments for someone with mental health problem could be:

  • Flexible working - shorter, adjusted or flexible hours.
  • Partial or home working
  • Time off for appointments that cannot be made outside of work hours e.g. IAPT appointments
  • Providing extra supervision
  • Longer or more frequent breaks
  • A safe quiet place to go
  • Re-allocating duties or re-deployment to another post
  • Sickness absence allocated differently to disability absence under the absence policy.
  • Colleague and employer training around mental health
  • Support and/or information from relevant organisations around mental health
  • Allowing the worker to listen to soothing music, through headphones if necessary.
  • Natural light in workspace.
  • To help with concentration: reducing distractions and interruptions; private office or workspace; breaking large tasks down into small stages.
  • Allowing meetings to be recorded or providing written notes/minutes afterwards.
  • Not ignoring symptoms of stress or depression.
  • If the worker is off sick, not pressurising by setting deadlines for return.
  • Staged return to work in terms of hours, days, workload etc.
  • Ensuring the worker receives welcome from colleagues and managers on return; training supervisors on positive response; ensuring no isolation or bullying from colleagues.
  • Ensuring worker returns to a clean in-tray.
  • On return, reviewing physical environment; briefing worker on social and work developments; planning workload and support; discussing possible adjustments.
  • Dealing with any underlying cause of stress, eg bullying, excess workload.
  • Provision of ongoing positive support.
  • Careful handling of any disciplinary hearings, with flexibility and good notice of dates, allowing a companion of choice, giving full detail and information in advance.

Employers are obliged not to discriminate against someone with a disability during the recruitment process, as well as during an individual’s employment.

For example, reasonable adjustments that could be made during the interview process could be;

  • Allowing a support worker, friend or family member to support the individual during the interview or be present at the interview location.
  • Adapting/modifying the interview process to avoid putting an individual with a mental health problem at a disadvantage e.g. if someone is anxious about a presentation or group interview then using a comparative interview method.
  • Encouraging the applicant to visit the place of work/interview location/meet the interviewers prior to the interview.
  • Allow extra time or breaks during the interview.
  • Permitting interview aids such as extra notes, prompts, interpreter etc.
  • Providing comprehensive pre-interview material.
  • Be flexible about the time of day the interview is e.g. if someone is anxious about travelling at certain times of the day, their medication makes it difficult for them to concentrate in the morning etc.
  • Modifying interview questions to be more easily understood or having alternative interpretations of the questions if the interviewee does not understand.
  • Taking into account heightened nerves/anxiety prior and during the interview.

Many of the above points would be considered ‘good practice’ at an interview anyway; however the adjustments may need to be pointed out to some employers. For an employer to have to try and make some adjustments they need to be aware of the individuals disability.

The above lists are by no means exhaustive, reasonable adjustments can be creative if they aid the employee and are ‘reasonable’ to implement by the employer.

What is meant by reasonable?

Employers only have to make adjustments that are reasonable. When deciding if the adjustment is reasonable they should consider:

  • how effective it will be in helping the person do their job
  • whether it is practical to make the adjustment
  • how much disruption, if any, will be caused to the business or other people
  • how much, if anything, the adjustment will cost and how much money the employer has
  • whether they can get help with making the adjustment and towards the cost of an adjustment from a scheme like Access to Work.

The most important thing to remember is that treating everyone the same does not mean that you are treating everyone fairly. The Equality Act requires people to be treated differently according to their needs by making reasonable adjustments for them.

Further information/useful references

equalityhumanrights.com/.../dda_workers_guide_reasonable_adjustments.doc