What are workplace adjustments?
Find out more about workplace adjustments at the University.
Managers are responsible for having conversations with staff to discuss and agree on workplace adjustments which remove or reduce barriers an employee is facing, enabling them to do their job. Managers and staff should work together to put in place and regularly review workplace adjustments ensuring they remain effective.
Potential barriers
Physical
e.g. a set of stairs, office layout.
Assumptions or attitudes
Of other people about a disabled person’s abilities.
Policies or practices
Fixed working hours or locations, performance management policies, or expected ways of communicating.
Lack of equipment or support
e.g. assistive technology.
The manager is responsible for ensuring agreed adjustments are implemented in a timely manner. For managers, you can discover further support and information.
The legal definition of disability is a “physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on a person’s ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities”. Long-term is defined as having lasted or being likely to last for at least 12 months or the rest of the person’s life. Substantial is defined as more than minor or trivial.
There are some conditions which are legally protected under the Act from the point of diagnosis. For example, people diagnosed with cancer, HIV, and multiple sclerosis.
about the legal definition of disability.
What is ‘reasonable’?
Whether an adjustment is reasonable will depend on how a person’s disability affects them in their role, and how practical or possible (see full considerations below) it is for an employer to implement the adjustment, and will vary from case to case.
An adjustment that is reasonable for one person in a particular Division or School may not be reasonable for someone else, with the same disability, in a different role. Learn more about what a ‘reasonable adjustment‘ is.
Types of Workplace Adjustment
Each workplace adjustment will be specific to the individual's needs, their role and where they work. These may be short term or long term. Individuals may have similar conditions but can experience different barriers in the workplace and require different workplace adjustments.
When making a final decision, more than one of these can be considered.
- Changing work location
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If you need to change your working location or the percentage of your time at each location from the standard category then you may be able to propose this as a workplace adjustment.
The remote working policy sets out the practice of an individual performing all or part of their role from home or, in some instances, another suitable non-University workplace. This is covered in section 5.2.3 of the policy.
A change of location does not include working overseas. Overseas working is not permitted under the Flexible Working Procedure or under the Remote Working Framework, except in specific, limited circumstances resulting from a business need.
Decisions about work location should take into account the need for reasonable adjustments to support the staff member's effective performance in the locations where they work.
For all University staff, requests for 100% remote working on a permanent basis (whether as a reasonable adjustment or for any other reason) would be considered on a case-by-case basis, but cannot be accommodated in situations where there is a clear role requirement to be on campus for a proportion of the time, for example if that person as a core and fundamental part of their role is required to provide: a front-line face-to-face reception or drop-in type service to students or staff; to line-manage others; or to deliver in-person teaching.
- Adapting the working environment
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Most staff who work on campus (either as a campus-based worker or a hybrid worker) have a workspace within their School or Directorate.
Managers must consider barriers the working environment may present, including other parts of campus where an individual is expected to access. Barriers include, but are not restricted to:
- the structure of the building (e.g. installing a ramp)
- the location of the office / workplace within the building
- independent access to the building
- fittings and fixtures including doors, access to suitable toilet facilities, furniture
- ergonomic furniture and layout
- lighting, noise levels, heating and ventilation
- meeting room facilities and building access
- emergency evacuations and alarms.
If there are no practical or effective options to remove the barriers, alternative locations should be considered.
- Flexible working
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Find out more about our flexible working procedure, view the application form and an see an overview for managers.
- Ways of working
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Examples include:
- reorganising the layout of an office (e.g. moving shared resources to an accessible location)
- providing accessible and alternative formats for documents
- implementing meeting requirements (e.g. when and where, hybrid options, communication requirements, scheduling breaks, information in advance, layout of room)
- a reduction of workload or adjusted duties
- additional breaks
- time off to attend appointments or therapies to help manage conditions
- adjustments to make travelling to and in work easier, such as travelling at different times (this may include upgraded travel and accommodation in accordance with finance guidance).
- Equipment and aids
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Often, disabled employees already understand what adjustments they need and can advise their manager directly. If additional guidance is needed to determine appropriate equipment, Occupational Health can be helpful and recommendations can also come from medical providers like GPs or consultants.
may be another route for support.
Equipment examples:
- IT hardware (e.g. an adapted keyboard or mouse)
- computer software (e.g. voice activated software, screen readers)
- ergonomic furniture.
It may be appropriate for managers to consider what is available already in the Division or School e.g. a sit-stand desk. Equipment purchased by the University remains the property of the University and should be returned if it's no longer required or leaving the University. If a member of staff moves between Schools or Divisions in the University, where possible the equipment would move with the individual.
The University will provide all campus and hybrid workers with standard equipment for use in the office, and standard IT equipment to use from home. Additional specialist equipment that is provided as a reasonable adjustment will be supplied for use in the office, and where this is not portable, the provision of specialist equipment for home working will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Any equipment provided would remain the property of the University, and must be returned if the member of staff leaves the University.
Display Screen Equipment (DSE) - DSE users are colleagues who use a computer, laptop, tablet or smartphone to complete their work tasks for a significant part of their day, continuous periods of an hour or more. DSE users will need to complete a DSE Self-Assessment and share the assessment with their manager.
University staff who use display screen equipment can get a free eye test every 2 years. Find out more.
If staff require additional support and advice for underlying health conditions, disabilities, long-term musculoskeletal injuries, muscle or joint problems that impact them when using a computer, they may need to be referred to Occupational Health by their manager.
Other examples:
- A reader, a sign language interpreter or a support worker.
- Support to engage effectively with people providing these services, e.g. training.
- Training for other members of staff to help them work effectively together and create an inclusive environment.
- Redeployment
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Every job has its core components. It's reasonable to make adjustments to how work is done to enable someone to carry out these core functions.
If a person cannot carry out these functions because of their disability and no adjustment will enable them to do so, or it is not possible or practical for the University to make those adjustments, then the University may need to consider moving the person to a more suitable job that is currently vacant or needs doing, if one is available.
Transferring a disabled person to a suitable alternative vacancy is also a reasonable adjustment, under law.
Redeployment as a reasonable adjustment (where a member of staff is medically unfit to continue in their current role and all reasonable adjustments to the current role have been exhausted managers, with the support of HR), should follow the Redeployment Procedure [PDF 200KB].