Adjustments Guidance

The provision of adjustments is about identifying where staff experience difficulties or face barriers and then agreeing reasonable ways to remove or reduce that disadvantage.

This webpage provides guidance on identifying and agreeing adjustments and on the main Adjustments webpage you’ll find examples of adjustments that staff have found useful and answers to some common queries. If you have any other questions about adjustments, email us at .

Get started with the guidance below...

Barriers - Identify the barriers or challenges experienced

Staff may experience barriers relating to personal circumstances, needs or identities such as:

• Caring responsibilities e.g., someone with caring support some, but not all, of the time may not always be able to leave the person they care for to come into the office.
• Disability (this can be a physical disability, long term health condition, mental health problem, or neurodivergence) e.g., a staff member who has a musculoskeletal condition may not be able to use a standard office chair if it doesn’t provide sufficient support.
• Trans healthcare e.g., a trans staff member may need time off for gender-confirmation related appointments or procedures¹.
• Menopause² e.g., a staff member experiencing menopause symptoms may find the working environment or their uniform uncomfortably hot.
• Pregnancy³ e.g., a pregnant staff member may find it too tiring to stand all day.
• Religion or belief e.g., a staff member who prays during the day may find their work/break pattern does not allow the time they need for this.
• Menstrual health e.g., a staff member with acutely heavy or painful periods may find working in a shared office impractical during menstruation.

Adjustments - Consider adjustments to remove or reduce those barriers

Staff performance and wellbeing may be improved by putting in place adjustments including:

• Changes to working environment e.g., working from home or a different location and joining meetings online; adding a spring to a heavy door to make it easier to open.
• Changes to working arrangements e.g., flexible hours; avoiding tasks (like not working in areas serving alcohol); making requests with shorter notice (like when taking leave).
• Provision of aids/services⁴ e.g., assistive software; height adjustable desk; faith spaces.

Whether adjustments are agreed should be based on an assessment of if it is ‘reasonable’. A reasonable adjustment is both effective for the staff member and sustainable for the University. Managers, you should assess reasonableness but avoid evaluating the barriers (e.g., whether the staff member is ‘really’ disabled or how committed they are to their religion). Consider:

• Effectiveness – how well does it address the barrier? Remembering that an adjustment that is of marginal benefit alone, but effective with others, is likely to be reasonable.
• Practicality – how practical is it to implement (e.g., how long will it take, will anyone need extra training?)? Are there any significant barriers to implementation? The easier an adjustment is to make, the more likely it is to be reasonable (although, just because something is difficult doesn't mean it can't also be reasonable).
• Cost – how expensive is it in relation to the University’s resources? Is there other funding (e.g., Access to Work)? Are there other factors that make the cost more reasonable (e.g., a costly adjustment to retain a long-standing staff member with valuable knowledge and experience may be more reasonable than for temporary staff)?
• Disruption – how disruptive to work, others, and the needs of the University would it be? Most adjustments cause no disruption at all as they affect only the way in which the individual works, but where there might be disruption it is important to weigh the level of inconvenience to others against the disadvantage faced by the staff member.
• Risk – would it cause any risk? An adjustment will never be reasonable if it poses an unacceptable risk to the health and safety of the staff member or anyone else.

In addition to recording adjustments which have been agreed, any requested or suggested but not agreed, and why, should also be recorded to demonstrate that it was given proper consideration and to support future review (e.g., saving the need to talk about unsuitable adjustments unless circumstances have changed). Managers, you should give requests proper consideration; and if an adjustment is declined, this decision should be objectively justifiable.

Finally, consider if anything is needed for the wider team e.g., Staff, do you want to share anything to help the team understand your adjustments? Managers, are there any new ways of working that need to be communicated? Do team members need any instruction or training?

Review - Review adjustments to make sure they are working

When adjustments are agreed a time should also be set for when they will be reviewed. It may be useful to review the form:

• At regular one-to-one meetings.
• At a return-to-work meeting following a period of sickness absence.
• Before a change of job or duties or introduction of new technology or ways of working.
• Before or after any change in circumstances for either the University or staff member.

At review, consider: have agreed adjustments been implemented and, if so, have they adequately removed or reduced the barriers experienced?

Staff, you should inform your manager if there are changes to your circumstances which affect your work and/or if the agreed adjustments are not working. Managers, if you notice a change in your staff’s performance at work or feel the adjustments are not working, you should let the staff member know of any concerns. In either case, staff and managers should meet to discuss any further or alternative adjustments to be made. The Adjustments Agreement form should be reviewed and amended as necessary, with the agreement of both staff and manager.

Save a copy of the completed form

It is important to save a copy of the Adjustments Agreement as its purpose is to ensure there is a record of agreed adjustments, and reasoning for any not agreed, which can be referred to as needed e.g., if staff and manager later disagree about what was agreed, to minimise the need for staff to re-negotiate adjustments with a new manager, etc.

The Adjustments Agreement form can be updated at any time, as needed (e.g., if there are any changes to or new/additional adjustments discussed).