Disabled workers' access to reasonable adjustment
The Trades Union Congress (TUC)
The TUC exists to make the working world a better place for everyone. We bring together more than 5.2 million working people who make up our 48 member unions. We believe all workers deserve respect, and the opportunity to make the most of their talents.
We have a long and proud history of promoting equality for all our members. We strive to end all forms of discrimination, bigotry and stereotyping. We oppose any violence or intimidation, bullying or disrespect, towards any group that faces discrimination, and from whatever quarter. The TUC’s commitment to equality is written into our constitution and into that of our member unions.
The TUC takes a social model approach to disability, recognising that disabled people have impairments and are disabled by the environment, inaccessible workplaces, stigma and attitudes.
Social model of disability
The TUC has adopted the social model of disability. The social model of disability focuses on the ways in which society is organised, and the social and institutional barriers which restrict disabled people’s opportunities. The social model sees the person first and argues that the barriers they face, in combination with their impairments, are what disables them. Barriers can make it impossible or very difficult to access jobs, buildings or services, but the biggest barrier of all is the problem of people’s attitude towards disability. Removing the barriers is the best way to include millions of disabled people in our society.
Executive summary
Government data shows one in four (23%) of the working-age population are classed as disabled, meaning there are 5.5 million people in work who are disabled. 1
Putting in place reasonable adjustments for disabled workers is an effective way to remove the practical barriers they face at work and ensure they are able to reach their full potential.
However, the TUC Disabled Workers Conference and Disabled Workers Committee have consistently raised concerns regarding the huge barriers disabled workers face when getting into and staying in work. This includes significant difficulties in accessing reasonable adjustments.
In the TUC’s 2024 Equality Audit 2 we found that over half (55%) of trade union reps had supported members who were seeking to get reasonable adjustments put in place at work - making it the second most frequent equality issue encountered.
To better understand the issues around reasonable adjustments, we surveyed 1,000 disabled workers and asked them to share their experiences.
Our survey confirmed that the two biggest issues facing disabled workers are not getting the reasonable adjustments they need (34%); and disability related leave being counted as sick leave (34%).
In our survey over a third (37%) of respondents had put in a request for reasonable adjustments. We found that over half (55%) of disabled workers who had put in a request had, either only some of their request or none of their needed reasonable adjustments implemented.
Far too frequently disabled workers, once having made a request, were waiting too long for their adjustments to be put in place with our research finding eight in 10 (82%) disabled workers who had made a request were still waiting between 4 months and over a year to have their agreed adjustments put in place. Waiting times of this length have a serious impact on a disabled workers ability to perform to do their jobs well and progress at work.
Of those disabled workers whose employers only partially agreed or not agreed any of their adjustments an alarmingly high number had not been given a reason for the refusal with just under one in five (19%) not being provided a reason their request was turned down.
For those who were given a reason for their request being rejected, 24% of employers said the adjustment was “not practical to implement” and 22% said their employer did not think the adjustment would “resolve the disadvantage” with 19% saying the “financial cost was too high”.
We also found that:
Over a third (34%) of disabled workers polled were uncomfortable talking about their health, including disability, impairment, or long-term health condition with their manager or supervisor.
One in five (20%) disabled workers told us that they hadn’t told their employer they were disabled, with almost six in ten (56%) saying that it was because they were worried about negative repercussions, and a third (34%) saying they were worried their employer would think they could not do their job.
One in five disabled workers were dissatisfied with the support they received from their manager or supervisor (22%).
A quarter of disabled workers we spoke to told us they were dissatisfied with their opportunities for progression (25%).
Failing to provide reasonable adjustments for disabled workers, not only risks forcing people out of work, it also places employers at risk of legal challenges for failing to meet their requirements under the Equality Act 2010. We need employers to improve compliance with their proactive duty to make reasonable adjustments both in disabled workers’ access to reasonable adjustments and the speed with which they are implemented. Alongside our broader recommendations in this report, we’re calling on employers to review their existing reasonable adjustment policies, commit to giving written responses to requests within two weeks and roll out our Reasonable Adjustments Passport. But improvements to the implementation of reasonable adjustments is only one part of the broader work needed to dismantle the barriers disabled workers face and eradicate discrimination in the workplace. We’re reiterating our calls for the government to introduce disability pay gap reporting, as well as tangible action plans.
We’re also calling on the government to ensure the protections set out in the Equality Act 2010 are adhered to by providing additional funding to the EHRC for enforcement action.
The most effective way of shaping this action is around the social model of disability which shifts the focus away from what disabled people can and can't do, and onto the barriers that cause difficulties. It focuses on the ways in which society is organised, and the social and institutional barriers which restrict disabled people’s opportunities. The social model sees the person first and argues that the barriers they face, in combination with their impairments, are what disables them.
Recommendations
Government
The government should:
Support disabled people into work: Act to ensure that those disabled workers who are able to work, and want to work, have the support they need to enter and stay in work. Where employers have not put in place the reasonable adjustments disabled workers need to do their job, the disabled worker should not face a detriment linked to benefits or their removal/reduction.
Notification of outcome of requests for reasonable adjustments: Require employers to notify employees on decisions regarding reasonable adjustment requests within two weeks of an application.
Disability employment and pay gap reporting and action plans: In order to promote transparency and ensure workforce monitoring is used consistently across employers the government must introduce mandatory disability employment and pay gap reporting, for all employers with over 50 staff.
The legislation must be accompanied by a duty on employers to produce targeted action plans in consultation with recognised trade unions identifying the steps they will take to address any gaps identified, including ensuring disabled workers feel confident in completing workplace equality monitoring.
The action plans employers produce must also identify and address intersectional issues for example how they intend to identify and address gaps for disabled women. These action plans must be produced in consultation with recognised trade unions.
Disability Leave: The government should require employers record impairment related sick leave taken by disabled workers separately from other sick leave. This would recognise that some disabled people may have different and higher forms of disability linked absence and stop disabled workers from being pulled into automated HR processes by triggering an employer’s sick leave policy.
Access To Work: Removal the support cap and ensure application and renewal processes are efficient, personalised, and flexible. Entitled disabled jobseekers should get ‘in principle’ indicative awards. Access to Work should be reformed to provide quick and efficient access to the service with reduced waiting times.
Right to disconnect: Introducing a statutory right for employees and workers to disconnect from their work so as to create “communication free” time in their lives.
The social model of disability: The government should adopt the social model of disability. One way of bringing the social model of disability into the heart of UK law would be to make the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Disabled Persons (UNCRPD) enforceable within UK law.
Fully incorporating the Convention would bring the added benefit of addressing one of the outstanding recommendations the UNCRPD to the UK on how to improve and make further progress against the Convention’s aims.
The Convention’s purpose is to promote, protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all disabled people, and to promote respect for disabled people's inherent dignity. 3
Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC)
Additional funding for the EHRC: The government should ensure the EHRC has sufficient funding to discharge their legal duties and take first instance cases (at the Employment Tribunal where proceedings are begun or first heard) on failure of employers to put in place reasonable adjustments.
Targeted enforcement: The EHRC should receive additional ring-fenced resources to conduct targeted enforcement of workers’ right to reasonable adjustments.
Guidance for employers on the use of positive action: the EHRC should work with employers to develop practical guidance to increase their understanding and confidence in using the positive action provisions permitted in the Equality Act 2010 to address the under-representation of disabled people.
Employers
Review existing policies: Employers should work with trade unions to review their workplace policies, in light of this report and through a Social Model of Disability lens to ensure that they appropriately address disabled workers’ issues.
Introduce disability pay gap reporting: Employers should not wait for the government to bring in mandatory disability pay gap reporting and should take immediate steps to identify and address any gaps they have.
Make use of positive action provisions: Where an employer has identified underrepresentation of disabled people, they should strongly consider using positive action as a way of addressing this, for example within training and/or recruitment.
Reasonable adjustments: Employers must ensure they comply with their proactive duty to implement reasonable adjustments including working from home and flexible work patterns as soon as possible. They must also commit to responding to requests for reasonable adjustments within two weeks.
One way of doing this is by adopting the TUC’s Reasonable Adjustments Disability Passport which, in addition to putting in place a system for implementing and keeping in place reasonable adjustments for workers, also sets out an employer’s obligation to respond to a request for a reasonable adjustment within an agreed timeframe with written reasons where a request has been turned down.
Trade unions
Trade unions should:
Work with employers to review policies: Work with employers to review reasonable adjustments policies and practices in light of this report through a Social Model of Disability Len. They should negotiate for increased access to reasonable adjustments including those that grant flexible working including hybrid and home working and for the implementation of a reasonable adjustment's passport like the TUC’s Reasonable Adjustments Disability Passport. Trade unions are best placed to ensure the needs of employers and preferences of staff are reconciled through constructive dialogue and negotiation.
Train reps: Train reps in negotiating for reasonable adjustments policies that support members, using the latest research and data from the TUC to underline the importance of this work.
Monitor the impact: Monitor the impact of reasonable adjustments policies and negotiate for any necessary changes in the future.
Work with employers to ensure the workplace culture supports disabled workers to tell their manager and employer they are disabled: Work with employers to identify and eliminate barriers preventing disabled workers from telling their manager and employer they are disabled to ensure all disabled workers are able to get the reasonable adjustments they need to do their job.
The definition of disability in equality law
Disabled people are protected by the Equality Act 2010 from discrimination in employment and a range of other areas including education, provision of services and transport.
The Equality Act defines disability as a “physical or mental impairment…[that] has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on [their] ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.”
Government guidance makes clear that 'substantial' means more than minor or trivial and 'long-term' means 12 months or more. The guidance also highlights the importance of considering the cumulative impact of multiple impairments that a person might have and states that even if individual impairments might not have a substantial impact if considered in isolation “account should be taken of whether the impairments, together, have a substantial effect overall on the person’s ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities”.
Reasonable adjustments duty
All employers have a legal duty under the Equality Act 2010 (the Act) to proactively make reasonable adjustments to remove, reduce or prevent any disadvantages that disabled workers face.
The law recognises that to secure equality for disabled people, work may need to be structured differently, support given, and barriers removed. It means that in certain circumstances disabled people can be treated more favourably than non-disabled people to ensure equality, but one disabled person cannot be treated more favourably than another disabled person.
An employer who fails to meet their legal duty under the Act to make reasonable adjustments is in breach of the law and could be taken to an employment tribunal.
Public sector employers have an additional legal duty to consciously consider how their policies or decisions affect people who are protected under the Act with the aim of eliminating discrimination and promoting equality of opportunity. Complying with this public sector equality duty will involve public authorities considering how their policies, including those relating to flexible working, affect disabled employees and taking steps to mitigate any adverse impact.
Social model of disability
The social model of disability focuses on the ways in which society is organised, and the social and institutional barriers which restrict disabled people’s opportunities. The social model sees the person first and argues that the barriers they face, in combination with their impairments, are what disables them. Barriers can make it impossible or very difficult to access jobs, buildings or services, but the biggest barrier of all is the problem of people’s attitude towards disability. Removing the barriers is the best way to include millions of disabled people in our society.
Introduction
The TUC has continued to have concerns around access to and retention of reasonable adjustments. This is not least because the TUC Disabled Workers Conference and Disabled Workers Committee have continually highlighted that the ongoing issue for disabled workers is that they faced huge barriers getting into and staying in work, including significant difficulties in accessing reasonable adjustments. Each year the Disabled Workers Conference debate and agree motions calling for better access to and implementation of reasonable adjustments.
This issue was further highlighted in the TUC’s 2024 Equality Audit 4 which found that over half (55%) of trade union reps had encountered this issue making it the second most frequent equality issue encountered. This is despite the fact that all employers have a legal duty under the Equality Act 2010 to proactively make reasonable adjustments to remove, reduce or prevent any disadvantages that disabled workers face.
The TUC undertook this research, so to further understand the barriers disabled workers face when trying to access reasonable adjustments.
Findings
The biggest issues facing disabled workers
We asked disabled workers what were the biggest issues they faced.
Over a third (34%) of respondents said the biggest issue was not getting the reasonable adjustments they needed.
Over a third (34%) said disability related leave being counted as sick leave. 5
We also asked respondents if their employer had disability related leave recorded separately from sick leave. Around half (49%) of respondents said no, while over three in 10 (31%) did not know. Only one in five (20%) said yes.
Just under three in 10 (28%) said bullying, discrimination and harassment in the workplace.
The disabled workers who responded also highlighted the lack of inclusive policies as a key issue (25%) and being paid less than people who are not disabled (12%).
This report examines the respondents’ experiences accessing reasonable adjustments to pinpoint key barriers faced by disabled workers in getting and keeping reasonable adjustments in place.
- 1 https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/the-employment-of-disabled-people-2024/the-employment-of-disabled-people-2024
- 2 TUC Equality Audit 2024 – Page 50
- 3 https://social.desa.un.org/issues/disability/crpd/convention-on-the-rights-of-persons-with-disabilities-crpd
- 4 TUC Equality Audit 2024 – Page 50
- 5 Disability sick leave policies separate leave linked to a person’s impairment, disability or health condition from normal sick leave. This ensures disability linked leave does not trigger an employer’s sick leave policy recognising that some disabled people may have different and higher forms of sickness absence and to count them as one would be to unfairly penalise disabled workers.
How satisfied or dissatisfied are you with each of the following
We asked the disabled workers who responded to our survey how satisfied or dissatisfied they were with their job overall, with their opportunities for progression, opportunities for professional development or training and with the support they received from their manager or supervisor.
We did this to understand how disabled workers perceived their workplaces as a whole and three essential aspects of the workplace (opportunities for progression, professional development or training and line manager support) which impact on workers experiences and ability to thrive in the workplace.
We found that almost one in five (18%) were dissatisfied with their job overall, one in four (25%) were dissatisfied with their opportunities for progression, just over one in five (21%) were dissatisfied with the opportunities for professional development or training and just over one in five (22%) were dissatisfied with the support they received from their manager or supervisor.
How comfortable or uncomfortable do you feel talking about your health, including disability, impairment or long-term health condition
We asked disabled workers who responded to our survey how comfortable or uncomfortable they felt talking about their health, including disability, impairment, or long-term health condition if applicable, to their manager or supervisor and their colleagues.
Respondents were able to choose between seven options including, very comfortable, somewhat comfortable, somewhat uncomfortable, very uncomfortable, don’t know, not applicable and prefer not to say.
Our analysis found that over a third (34%) of disabled workers polled were uncomfortable talking about their health, including disability, impairment, or long-term health condition with their manager or supervisor while just under three in 10 (29%) were uncomfortable talking about these topics with their colleagues.
Higher comfort levels indicating more accepting workplaces cultures which allowed for discussion about a disabled workers needs while low comfort levels indicated the opposite of this.
Disabled workers telling their main employer they are disabled or have a health condition or impairment
We asked disabled workers who responded to our survey if they had told their employer they were disabled or had a health condition or impairment.
One in five (20%) said they had not told them. This is not surprising considering the high levels of discomfort many disabled workers reported having discussed their health, including disability, impairment, or long-term health condition with their manager.
Being able to discuss your disability with your manager and telling your employer is the first step needed in ensuring a disabled worker can access the reasonable adjustments they require to remove barriers from the workplace and ensure they are able to do their jobs.
Least likely to tell their main employer they are disabled or have a health condition or impairment
There was a strong consistency across all groups with around one in five not telling their employer about their disability. However, there were two groups who were far less like to do so. They were:
workers on a non-permanent contract (27%)
workers who received less than statutory sick pay (31%).
Why disabled workers did not tell their employer about their disability, health condition or impairment
We asked the disabled workers who said they had not told their employer about their disability, health condition or impairment why they had not, to understand what barriers were stopping them from doing so.
An analysis of the results found that almost six in 10 (56%) did not tell their employer because they were worried about the repercussions which just over a third (34%) encountered issues bringing it up to their employer.
Repercussions
Over a third (34%) of respondents told us they were worried their employer would think they could not do their job, over a quarter (26%) said they were worried they might lose their job, a quarter (25%) said they were worried they would be treated unfairly and three in 20 (15%) said they were worried their employer might tell their colleagues.
Issues bring up their disability
Just under a quarter of respondents (24%) said they did not think they would be supported if they told their employer about their disability so there was no point, one in five (20%) said they had never been asked if they had a disability, health condition or impairment and just under one in five(19%) said they did not know how to start the conversation.
Requesting reasonable adjustments
To understand what was happening in the workplace on and around getting, putting in place and keeping in place reasonable adjustments we asked disabled workers who responded to our survey if they have made a request for reasonable adjustments.
Just under four in 10 (37%) had made a request while just under six in 10 (59%) had not and 4% didn’t know or could not remember making a request.
Those who had not made a request for reasonable adjustments
We asked those who said they had not made a request why they had not.
Just over half (53%) said they did not require any reasonable adjustments indicating that 47% of those who had not made a request could have benefited from a reasonable adjustment being put in place.
17% who had not made a request said they had not done so because they felt uncomfortable, 16% were not aware they could make a request for reasonable adjustments and 14% did not put in a request because they did not think their employer would accept the request.
One in 20 (5%) said there was another reason and were asked to specify what that was, responses included:
“I do what I have to”
“I don’t know that I can. The occupational health told them to make them but no one cared”
“I don’t know what would help me”
“Not sure what adjustments could be made”
“My employer hasn’t accepted reasonable adjustments from other members of staff so I’m very confident they won’t accept any from me.”
4% of respondents said they did not know why they had not made a request.
Implementing requested reasonable adjustments
We asked those disabled workers who told us they had made a reasonable adjustment request in their current role what the outcome of the request was.
Only around a third (36%) of the disabled workers who had made a request had their employer agree to all of the requested reasonable adjustments with over four in 10 (44%) agreeing to implement some, but not all of the requested adjustments.
For over one in 10 (11%) disabled workers, their employer did not agree to any of the requested adjustments and one in 20 (5%) had not yet heard back from their employer on the outcome of their request.
This shows that over half (55%) of disabled workers had seen their reasonable adjustment request either partially implemented or not implemented at all.
Implementation of reasonable adjustments agreed by employer
We asked respondents who told us their employer had agreed to put in place any reasonable adjustments if they had been implemented.
Only 45% of respondents indicated all their adjustments had been put in place.
While half (50%) of respondents told us some had been put in place but not all and three in 50 (6%) told us none of their adjustments had been implemented, showing that just under six in 10 (56%) of disabled workers are still waiting for an agreed reasonable adjustment to be put in place.
Length of waiting time for an agreed reasonable adjustment to be implements
We followed up with the disabled workers who told us that their employer had agreed to put in place reasonable adjustments but that either none or only some had been put in place since they made the request to understand how long they had been waiting.
Respondents were able to choose from six options including: less than a month, 1–3 months, 4–6 months, 7–12 months, over a year and not sure/can’t remember.
We found that over eight in 10 (82%) of disabled workers were waiting between 4 months and over a year to have their agreed adjustments put in place.
Reasons for not agreeing reasonable adjustments requests
We asked disabled workers whose employer had only partially agreed or not agreed any of their reasonable adjustment request what reason was given for the refusal.
Respondents were able to select multiple reasons out of nine options.
Just under one in five (19%) told us their employer hadn’t provided any reason in particular.
Just under a quarter (24%) of employers said in their response to a request that the adjustment was not practical to implement and over two in 10 (22%) said their employer did not think the adjustment would resolve the disadvantage.
Almost one in five (19%) said the financial cost was too high.
Other reasons given included:
Employer did not agree the disadvantage without the adjustment was substantial (18%)
The adjustment would impact other individuals’ performance (18%)
The adjustment would impact the team’s performance (17%).
3% of respondents said their employer gave another reason. These included:
‘Wasn’t disabled enough’
‘Waiting until I've seen the specialist for further diagnosis’
‘With hot desking they didn't want me to have different furniture, so I took it upon myself to purchase my own chair and desk’
One in 25 (4%) who answered this question didn’t know/ could not remember.
Trade union support
To understand how being a trade union member impacted on disabled members experiences we asked about trade union membership. Just over a quarter (28%) of respondents were current members of a trade union.
We asked current disabled trade union members how their experiences had been as a member. Around a third (32%) told us their union had supported them as a disabled person. Just under one in 10 (9%) said their union was not supportive of them as a disabled person.
Over a third (35%) of current disabled trade union members said they had not sought support from their union, 17% said their union was neither supportive nor unsupportive, 6% were not sure and 1% preferred not to say.
To understand what kind of support disabled trade union members were getting from their union we asked current members how their union was supporting them.
One in five (20%) had their union represent them in discussions with their employer, one in five (20%) said their union shared resources about their rights at work and 18% had been provided with advice or guidance on disability-related workplace issues.
17% of disabled trade union members reported receiving support with a request for reasonable adjustments and just over one in 10 (11%) said their union had secured disability leave with their employer.
Members had also recognised their union had advocated for policies benefiting disabled workers more broadly (13%) and connected them with other disabled members or support networks (10%).
Conclusion
With 5.5 million disabled people currently in work, it is essential that employers and the government take urgent action to remove the significant barriers disabled workers face.
The TUC’s research highlights widespread difficulties in accessing reasonable adjustments, with over half of disabled workers receiving only some or none of the adjustments they need, and others facing unacceptably long waiting times of up to a year or more for their requests to be actioned.
Many workers are left without clear reasons for refusals, and explanations often cite impracticality, doubt over effectiveness, or financial cost — all of which undermine legal obligations under the Equality Act 2010. Additionally, fear of negative repercussions leads many disabled workers to avoid telling their employer or line manager of their condition or discussing their needs, contributing to dissatisfaction with management support and limited career progression.
Employers must urgently review and improve their reasonable adjustment policies, respond to requests in writing within two weeks, and implement tools like the Reasonable Adjustments Passport to ensure consistency and accountability.
However, tackling workplace barriers is only part of the solution. The government must also commit to enforcing protections under the Equality Act 2010 by increasing funding to the EHRC and introducing mandatory disability employment and pay gap reporting with clear action plans.
Ultimately, these efforts must be shaped by the social model of disability, which focuses on removing societal and institutional barriers, rather than on individual impairments, to create workplaces where disabled workers are fully included and able to thrive.
Methodology
In order to better understand disabled workers’ experiences of accessing reasonable adjustments at work, the TUC commissioned in-depth research 6 . Between 22 January 2025 and 4 February 2025, we surveyed 1,000 adult disabled workers in Great Britain.
To take part in the survey a respondent had to confirm the had a health problem, illness or disability that reduce their ability to carry out day-to-day activities in any way. This ensured respondents would be counted as disabled within the Equality Act 2010.
Throughout this report we will indicate where the number of respondents within a sub-group is around the minimum number for analyses to be statistically reliable. Any subsample will be subject to a greater margin of error than the sample as a whole.
Due to low sample sizes, we have not been able to analyse the experiences of disabled, LGBT+ or disabled Black workers.
- 6 Carried out by Opinium Research a member of the British Polling Council.
Stay Updated
Want to hear about our latest news and blogs?
Sign up now to get it straight to your inbox