Under the Equality Act 2010, an employer has an active duty to make reasonable adjustments for a disabled person where its policies or practices, or physical feature of its premises, put a disabled employee at a substantial disadvantage in comparison with a non-disabled person. The duty also covers disabled job applicants in the recruitment process.
Reasonable adjustments in employment for a disability could include: reallocation of duties or redeployment to a different role; giving a nearby parking space to a disabled worker; providing a specialist piece of equipment; arranging breaks to cope with a disability; allocating a mentor; and amending the employer’s policy on companions at certain meetings.
Employers are required only to make adjustments that are reasonable. For example, if the cost of the reasonable adjustment is prohibitive, or the suggested adjustment is completely impractical, the employer may not be required to make it.