Reasonable adjustments disability passports

The passport is a live record of adjustments agreed between a disabled worker and their manager to support them at work.

It is for workers to keep and share with anyone they think needs to know about the barriers that they face within or outside the workplace, and the adjustments needed to prevent or reduce the effect of those barriers in their work environment.

Barriers can include both attitudes and environmental factors. People who may need adjustments include both those with visible impairments (such as wheelchair users) and those with non-visible or ‘hidden’ conditions or impairments (such as people with a mental health condition).

The passport’s purpose is to:

• make sure that everyone is clear about what adjustments have been agreed and has a record of these
• reduce the need to reassess and renegotiate adjustments every time a worker changes jobs, is relocated or is assigned a new manager
• provide a worker and manager with the basis for future conversations about adjustments.

Control of the passport

The passports should only be shared with the incoming line manager once the written permission of the worker has been given. Although the worker has control of the information and who it is shared with, it is usual practice for the manager to have a signed copy as well, and sometimes the organisation’s HR or personnel team.

The passports and agreed reasonable adjustments should be reviewed six months after the adjustments have initially been put in place for two reasons: to ensure they remain effective in removing any identified workplace barriers; and where they are found no longer to meet that requirement, to allow a timely conversation to take place to identify adjustments that will address the issues faced by the worker.

Further reviews will be at the worker’s request, and/or when there is any change to a worker’s job that might create additional barriers. A check in these circumstances can ensure the adjustments are still appropriate and effective.

Changes to the type of reasonable adjustments that need to be considered are not uncommon. They can change for a number of reasons, including technological advances that may mean there are better ways to overcome workplace barriers, changes to a worker’s job or changes to an individuals’ condition.