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 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.

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

The duty 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.

The concept of a PCP is very wide. It could even be the contractual requirement to perform the essential functions of her role (Archibald v Fife Council [2004] ICR 954), or the decision to dismiss (Hibbert v The Home Office & Others [2013] UKEAT 0138/13/2410).

Examples of common adjustments include:

• special interview arrangements for disabled job applicants;

• 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 work from home;

• 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.