The duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled workers

A key concept of the EA 10 is the duty to make reasonable adjustments (section 20 EA 10). This is a positive duty owed by the employer to take reasonable steps to accommodate the disability of a disabled worker in the workplace.

This duty requires the employer to do more to reduce disadvantage for a disabled person than it would for someone who is not disabled. The fact that non-disabled workers do not get to benefit from the same adjustment is irrelevant to the question of whether it is reasonable.

It is a duty owed to the individual worker. This means that what adjustments are appropriate will depend on the needs of that individual.

The duty is owed only to the disabled worker and not to any third party such as their carer or parent (Hainsworth v Ministry of Defence [2014] IRLR 728 CA).

The precise duty under section 20 EA 10 is to make reasonable adjustments to any provision, criterion or practice (PCP) that places the disabled person at a substantial disadvantage compared to non-disabled people. Obvious examples include sickness absence and redundancy or discipline and grievance procedures, but the concept of a PCP is very wide. It could even include the decision to dismiss (Hibbert v The Home Office [2013] UKEAT 0138/13/2410).

Examples of common adjustments include:

• special interview arrangements;

• modifying recruitment selection procedures, for example allowing more time to complete tests;

• reallocating duties;

• altering hours, or offering reduced hours (HK Danmark v Dansk almennyttigt Boligselskab [2013] EUECJ C-335/11);

• permitting working from home;

• a phased return after sickness absence;

• transferring a newly disabled person (or a person whose disability has worsened) into a more suitable existing vacancy;

• extra training;

• time off for medical treatment;

• relaxing workplace rules, for example allowing extra breaks or time away from the computer;

• modifying redundancy selection procedures; and

• modifying redeployment procedures.

Whether or not an adjustment is reasonable will depend on the particular circumstances of each case.