LRD guides and handbook June 2019

Workplace action on mental health - a trade union guide

Chapter 9

What are reasonable adjustments under the law?

[ch 9: page 48]

The Equality Act 2010 obliges an employer to consider three broad forms of reasonable adjustments:

• changing the way things are done;

• overcoming physical features; and

• providing extra equipment.

When deciding what is “reasonable”, an employer can take into account:

• the size of the organisation and its financial situation;

• the cost of making the change;

• how helpful the adjustment would be to the individual; and

• how practical it is to make the change.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission has published a guide on the duty to make reasonable adjustments, Employing people: workplace adjustments, which gives examples of reasonable adjustments in practice (https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/multipage-guide/employing-people-workplace-adjustments).