Free Reasonable Workplace Adjustments Checklist UK
Reasonable Workplace Adjustments Checklist
Use this free UK printable to identify barriers at work, consider practical changes and prepare for a constructive conversation with a manager, HR or occupational-health professional.
Reasonable Workplace Adjustments Checklist
Use as a discussion aid. Tick ideas worth exploring, then explain the barrier, proposed change and likely benefit.
| Adjustment discussed | Agreed / trial / declined | Who will arrange it? | Start date | Review date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
What are reasonable adjustments at work?
Reasonable adjustments are changes intended to remove or reduce a disadvantage connected with disability. They might alter how work is organised, change a physical feature or provide equipment, services or support. Acas emphasises that adjustments are individual: a change that is effective for one employee may not meet another person’s needs, even when they have the same diagnosis.
In Great Britain, the Equality Act 2010 places a legal duty on employers to make reasonable adjustments for disabled workers in relevant circumstances. The purpose is to prevent disabled people being placed at a substantial disadvantage compared with people who are not disabled. The legal definition of disability and the exact conditions triggering the duty matter. This printable cannot decide whether someone meets that definition or whether a specific proposal is legally reasonable.
Northern Ireland has separate disability-discrimination legislation rather than the Equality Act 2010, but employers there can also have a duty to make reasonable adjustments. Readers in Northern Ireland should use nidirect and the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland for jurisdiction-specific information.
Employers can also choose to provide supportive workplace changes when the strict legal duty is uncertain or does not apply. For that reason, this worksheet focuses on practical barriers and solutions without asking the user to make a legal finding about themselves.
Examples of reasonable workplace adjustments
There is no complete list because jobs, workplaces and health effects vary. GOV.UK and Acas examples include doing something in a different way, modifying working arrangements, making physical changes and providing equipment or support. A change must address the actual disadvantage rather than merely sound helpful in general.
Hours, attendance and place of work
Possible adjustments include altered start and finish times, evenly distributed breaks, predictable shifts, home or hybrid working, a phased return after absence, or time for treatment. An employer may consider disability-related absence differently from ordinary absence where appropriate. Flexible working and reasonable adjustments are related but legally distinct processes; choosing the correct route can matter.
Duties and management
Examples may include reallocating a non-essential task, changing the way work is allocated, providing clearer priorities, additional supervision, a job coach, more time for training or an alternative method of assessment. Removing every challenging aspect of a role will not always be reasonable or possible, particularly where an essential function or safety requirement is involved.
Communication and sensory needs
Adjustments might include written instructions, accessible documents, captioning, an interpreter, a quieter desk, reduced sensory distraction, agendas in advance or an alternative to hot-desking. Neurodivergent workers do not all need the same environment; the request should identify the particular barrier and expected benefit.
Equipment and physical access
Possibilities include ergonomic equipment, adapted software, screen readers, voice recognition, accessible parking, ramps, changes to layout, accessible facilities or alarm systems that can be perceived by the employee. A competent assessment may be needed for specialised equipment, manual-handling risks or emergency evacuation arrangements.
How to ask for reasonable adjustments
A request can begin in conversation, but a written record helps everyone understand what has been asked and when. Acas provides a template that focuses on how health affects work, what adjustment would help and the benefit it is expected to produce. You do not need to write a lengthy medical history. Share enough relevant information for the employer to understand the disadvantage and consider solutions.
A useful request normally contains:
- the workplace task, rule, feature or arrangement causing difficulty;
- how it creates a disadvantage connected with the health condition or disability;
- the adjustment requested and why it is likely to work;
- an alternative or trial option where appropriate;
- any relevant fit-note, occupational-health or specialist advice;
- a suggested review date.
You can use the checklist privately before writing the request. Do not simply tick every possible adjustment. Select the few options that relate closely to your barriers. A targeted proposal is easier to discuss, implement and review.
If medical information is requested, ask why it is needed, who will see it and how it will be stored. Employers need permission before obtaining a medical report from a doctor. Occupational health can help translate health effects into work-focused recommendations without requiring unnecessary disclosure to a manager.
What should happen at an adjustments meeting?
The meeting should explore the problem and potential solutions. The preferred adjustment may be accepted, tested, modified or replaced by another effective option. Practicality, effectiveness, cost, resources, disruption, health and safety, and the size and nature of the employer can be relevant to what is reasonable. These factors are context-specific; cost alone should not be treated as an automatic answer without proper consideration.
Ask who has authority to approve the request and whether funding, IT, estates, HR, health and safety or occupational health needs to be involved. For an equipment request, clarify who owns and maintains it. For changed hours or location, record when the arrangement starts, whether it is temporary or ongoing and how team coverage will work.
If there are competing needs, Acas advises employers to consider the individual, team and organisation and try to find a workable solution. An alternative may remove the same disadvantage even if it is not the employee’s first choice. If a request is declined, ask for the reasons and which alternatives were considered.
Acas recommends confirming agreed adjustments in writing, such as by letter or email. The action table in the printable is a preparation aid; use the employer’s formal record for the final agreement.
Reviewing and recording workplace adjustments
An adjustment that works initially may need revision when the role, workplace, technology or person’s condition changes. Set a realistic review date and decide what successful implementation looks like. This might mean improved access, fewer symptom-related interruptions, reliable attendance, safe completion of essential duties or better communication.
A review should not be used to remove an effective adjustment automatically because a fixed period has ended. Nor should an arrangement continue unchanged when it is ineffective. Discuss evidence, unintended problems and alternatives. Temporary trials can be helpful where the effect is uncertain, provided the trial is genuine, appropriately supported and reviewed.
Keep the record accessible to the people who need to implement it, while protecting medical confidentiality. A workplace-adjustment passport or similar record may help when an employee changes manager or team, but the employee should understand how the information will be used.
Access to Work may provide practical or financial support for eligible people, but official guidance makes clear that it does not replace the employer’s legal duty to make reasonable adjustments. Do not delay discussing straightforward changes while waiting for an external scheme.
How this checklist fits with your other return-to-work documents
If you are returning after sickness absence, use the Phased Return-to-Work Planning Worksheet to map stages, duties and review dates. If a healthcare appointment is needed, the Fit Note Appointment Preparation Worksheet helps explain functional effects. For work-related pressure, the Stress and Burnout Symptom-and-Work Impact Diary can record patterns without presenting them as a diagnosis.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a formal diagnosis to request an adjustment?
You can ask for support whether or not you use legal terminology. Whether the statutory reasonable-adjustments duty applies depends on disability law and the facts. An employer may need enough information to understand the barrier and its connection with health.
Can reasonable adjustments include working from home?
Home or hybrid working can be considered, but it is not automatically reasonable for every role. The employer should consider whether it effectively removes the disadvantage and how the work can be performed.
Who pays for reasonable adjustments?
GOV.UK says the worker cannot be required to pay the cost of reasonable adjustments. Access to Work may help with some additional support but does not replace the employer’s legal responsibilities.
Should agreed adjustments be written down?
Yes. Acas recommends that employers confirm agreed reasonable adjustments in writing. The record should state what will happen, when it starts and when it will be reviewed.
Is this checklist legal proof that an adjustment is reasonable?
No. It helps identify and discuss possibilities. It cannot determine legal status, compel an employer to accept an item or replace professional advice.
- GOV.UK: Reasonable adjustments for workers
- Acas: Reasonable adjustments at work
- Acas: Making and handling requests
- EHRC: Employing people — workplace adjustments
- nidirect: Disability-discrimination employment rights
Information checked 31 August 2026. Employment law and guidance can change. Consult official guidance or obtain individual advice where needed.
