Our new and improved adjustments process!

January 2025

We are pleased to share our new approach for workplace adjustments (also known as reasonable adjustments), designed to better support our diverse staff community and streamline how adjustments are managed across the University.

What's new

Previously, adjustments were handled through separate processes for disability, menopause, and carers, and left gaps for other areas where support may be needed.

Our new process consolidates all adjustment needs into a single, comprehensive approach that covers adjustments related to a wider range of areas including, disability, caring responsibilities, menopause and menstrual health, religion and belief, and gender transition and trans inclusion.

Our ingenuity, energy and resilience come from our diverse community, and as such we want to ensure that staff can get the support they need to work at their best. This unified process makes adjustments more accessible, efficient, and supportive, particularly for staff with intersecting or overlapping needs.

To support this new process, we have introduced the following key documents:

• Adjustments Policy – outlining our legal duty to provide reasonable adjustments for disabled staff and our commitment to providing adjustments for a range of other personal circumstances, needs, or identities.
• Adjustments Guide – providing clear steps for staff and managers.
• Adjustments Agreement – for staff and managers to use to record agreed adjustments. Note: This replaces My Adjustment Passport, Carers Passport, and Menopause Passport.

Additional case study examples and answers to FAQs are also available to help apply the new process effectively.

Why this matters

Feedback from our community and expert organisations, such as the Business Disability Forum, indicate that our previous processes for adjustments were lengthy, complex, and required staff to duplicate information, making it harder for staff and managers to implement effective adjustments.

We are striving for better; these improvements simplify the process, promote consistency, and support staff with intersecting or multiple needs to receive appropriate support.

In addition, by combining our adjustments processes we hope to foster open conversations about adjustments for all staff.

What do you need to do?

• Review the new policy and guidance: All updated resources are available here- Adjustments.
• Start using the new Adjustments Agreement: If you need any adjustments or are a manager supporting a colleague, please begin using the new process to discuss and record adjustments (you don't need to redo existing agreements).
• Let us know what you think: If you have any questions or comments about the updates, please let us know . We welcome your feedback so can we continue to improve in how we support staff to thrive.

If you need any support with adjustments conversations, please reach out to your HR Business Partner. You’ll find more information about requesting and implementing adjustments on the Adjustments webpage.