What Are Workplace Adjustments?

· 10th July 2026

Life can be unpredictable and there may be times where changes to your personal circumstances – whether that’s injury, illness or a long-term health condition – mean that you’re unable to do your job as normal. In such scenarios, your employer may need to make certain workplace adjustments to ensure you can continue to work safely and effectively.

While you might have heard this term before, you may not know exactly what workplace adjustments are. However, it’s essential that everyone has a good understanding of when workplace adjustments would apply so that employees know what support they’re entitled to and employers meet their legal obligations and don’t end up in hot water.

So what are workplace adjustments? And how can they help employers and employees alike? The team at Healthier Workforce is here to talk you through what you need to know.

What are workplace adjustments?

A workplace adjustment is any kind of change made to an employee’s role, duties or working environment that enables them to do their job despite a health condition, disability or injury.

Also known as reasonable adjustments, workplace adjustments are designed to remove or reduce the disadvantages that an employee might face at work. Under the Equality Act 2010, employers in the UK have a legal duty to make reasonable adjustments for staff with a disability or condition that may affect their ability to carry out their normal role; failing to do so could result in legal action due to discrimination.

What are the benefits of workplace adjustments?

Workplace adjustments have a whole host of benefits for both employees and employers, such as:

Levelling the playing field and ensuring certain employees aren’t unfairly disadvantaged.
Supporting an employee’s recovery and a faster, safer return to work.
Helping to retain top talent.
Boosting productivity by reducing absenteeism.
Improving employee wellbeing and job satisfaction.
Demonstrating an employer’s commitment to equality and inclusion.

Who is eligible for workplace adjustments?

Workplace adjustments are for anyone who has a disability or health condition that puts them at a disadvantage in the workplace.

Under the Equality Act 2010, you’re considered to be disabled if you have a physical or mental impairment that has a long-term or substantial negative effect on your day-to-day life. An impairment is considered to be substantial if it has a serious impact on your ability to do normal everyday tasks– for example, if it takes you much longer to get dressed in the morning – and long-term if it’s expected to last for 12 months or more.

This covers a whole host of conditions, such as:

Mental health conditions: anxiety, burnout, depression, etc
Neurodivergence: autism, ADHD, dyspraxia, etc
Long-term conditions: epilepsy, arthritis, asthma, chronic pain, HIV, etc
Progressive conditions: Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, etc
Occupational diseases: HAVS, carpal tunnel syndrome, tinnitus, contact dermatitis, etc
Sensory impairments: vision loss, hearing loss, etc
Serious illness or injury: cancer, stroke, recovery from major illness or surgery, etc

It’s also important to remember that a condition doesn’t always have to be officially diagnosed to qualify for reasonable adjustments, and a lack of diagnosis shouldn’t deter employees from seeking support.

Examples of reasonable adjustments

So what are reasonable adjustments in the workplace? The best way to give you an idea of what this actually looks like in practice is to give some examples of common reasonable adjustments. These can typically be grouped into the following categories.

Work environment

A busy, bustling workplace isn’t ideal for everyone, and by changing an employee’s immediate workspace, you might improve their comfort and ability to focus. This might involve:

Making the building more accessible by improving step-free access, moving desks to the ground floor, etc
Moving to a quieter workspace or providing a calm room where an employee can go to decompress and avoid sensory overload
Adjusting lighting to remove glare
Reserving accessible parking spaces

Work duties

Sometimes, after serious illness or injury, it may not be practical or possible for an employee to return to their previous work duties. In such situations, dismissal is never the right first reaction; instead, employers should explore making adjustments to their role, such as:

Reallocating or reducing particularly physical or high-stress duties
Reassigning the employee to a more suitable role where appropriate
Providing additional support or supervision
Prioritising only essential jobs and reallocating anything that can wait
Adjusting performance targets to account for the impact of their condition

Equipment

The right equipment can help an employee to work more comfortably, safely and effectively. This may include:

Ergonomic furniture, such as seats and desks
Sensory equipment, such as noise-cancelling headphones
Accessible software, like voice recognition or speech-to-text
Appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE)

Work patterns

Following a bout of serious injury or illness, it’s not realistic to expect an employee to jump straight back into their normal routine from day one. Instead, you might want to implement a range of changes to help support their recovery, such as:

Flexible start and finish times
Remote or hybrid working arrangements
Reduced or part-time hours on a temporary or permanent basis
A phased return to work plan
Adjusted shift patterns
Additional or extended breaks

For how long does an employer have to make reasonable adjustments?

There is no right or wrong answer to this question, as it all depends entirely on the circumstances in question and the nature of the employee’s condition.

In practice, reasonable adjustments can be:

Temporary: These adjustments last until an employee has made a full recovery – usually a few weeks or so – from an injury or illness.
Permanent: These adjustments will usually remain in place indefinitely as the employee has an ongoing, long-term health condition that will permanently impact their ability to do their job.
Flexible: These adjustments can vary depending on how the employee is feeling on a given day and are best suited to fluctuating conditions where short-term flare-ups are common, such as arthritis, multiple sclerosis or depression.

Regardless of what kind of workplace adjustments are in place, it’s always a good idea to hold regular review meetings to ensure they continue to meet the employee’s requirements. Using a tailored adjustments plan can help to document and monitor ongoing needs and create a clear framework for reviewing and updating adjustments over time. Sometimes it takes a bit of trial and error to find an approach that works for both the employee and the employer, especially when recurring conditions are involved. By arranging periodic check-ins, you can ensure any issues are identified at an early stage and make changes where needed.

How to identify the right workplace adjustments

One-size-fits-all approaches to workplace adjustments simply don’t work, as two employees with the same condition may require different kinds of support depending on their symptoms, job role and working environment.

Finding the right workplace adjustments requires an open dialogue between the employee and the employer, discussing what challenges the employee is facing, how this affects them at work and what kind of support they’d benefit from.

It’s also highly recommended to schedule an occupational health assessment with a qualified occupational health practitioner, like the team here at Healthier Workforce. An occupational health assessment will usually consider:

How the employee’s condition impacts their day-to-day work
Which specific parts of their role they find most difficult
Whether there are any workplace risks that need to be managed
Which reasonable adjustments would be most appropriate, if any
Whether adjustments should be temporary, permanent or periodically reviewed
Whether a phased return to work is recommended
Whether any specialist equipment or workplace adaptations are required

Following this meeting, the occupational health practitioner will review their findings and compile a detailed report recommending the most suitable workplace adjustments. The benefit of working with an occupational health practitioner is that they’re entirely unbiased and offer impartial, evidence-based advice that takes into account both the employee’s medical needs and the practical requirements of the business.

Employers and employees should also be aware of the Government’s Access to Work scheme that is designed to help those with disabilities to stay in work, providing grants that can help to pay for things like travel to work or specialist equipment. It’s important to note that this fund can’t be used to pay for reasonable adjustments that the employer is legally obligated to provide. It can, however, provide advice to your employer on appropriate workplace adjustments and be used to fund support that goes beyond their responsibilities.

How can Healthier Workforce help?

If you’re wondering how best to support an employee returning to work and you’re not sure what workplace adjustments are appropriate, the team at Healthier Workforce has you covered.

Since 2009, we’ve been supporting businesses all across the UK with a whole host of occupational health services, including occupational health assessments. With our help, you can be sure you’re complying with your legal obligations under the Equality Act 2010. Whether you just need a one-off occupational health assessment or ongoing occupational health support, we’re here to help you create a safer and more productive workplace.

To find out more, get in touch with our friendly team to discuss your needs in more detail or fill out our occupational health referral form.