Disability discrimination and reasonable adjustments

Whether you are disabled is a legal question with a legal test. Your employer’s opinion about it, however confidently expressed, is not the answer.

The test is lower than most people assume

You are disabled for the purposes of the Equality Act if you have a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on your ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.

Four points that widen this considerably, and that employers routinely get wrong:

“Substantial” means more than minor or trivial. Not severe. Not disabling in the everyday sense of the word. More than minor or trivial.

“Long-term” means twelve months or more — or likely to last that long, or likely to recur. A condition that comes and goes can qualify. A condition diagnosed three months ago can qualify if it is likely to last a year.

The effect is judged as if treatment were not there. This is the point missed most often. If medication, therapy or a hearing aid controls your condition, the question is what the effect would be without it. Someone whose depression is well managed on medication may still be disabled, because the assessment ignores the medication.

Whether you consider yourself disabled is irrelevant. Many people with a qualifying condition would never use the word about themselves, and it makes no difference to the legal position.

Conditions that regularly qualify and are regularly disputed: depression, anxiety, PTSD, ADHD, autism, long COVID, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, endometriosis, migraine, IBS, diabetes, epilepsy, dyslexia, hearing and sight impairments. Cancer, HIV and multiple sclerosis are treated as disabilities from the point of diagnosis.

Reasonable adjustments — a duty to act, not merely to refrain

This is what makes disability different from every other protected characteristic. It is not enough for an employer to avoid treating you badly. Where a provision, criterion or practice, a physical feature, or the absence of an auxiliary aid puts you at a substantial disadvantage compared with people who are not disabled, the employer must take such steps as are reasonable to remove it.

The duty is on the employer, and the cost of an adjustment cannot be passed to you.

What is reasonable depends on how effective the step would be, how practicable it is, the cost, and the employer’s size and resources — so more is expected of a large employer than a small one.

Adjustments that are commonly reasonable and commonly refused: changes to working hours or start times; home or hybrid working; a phased return; redeploying to a suitable alternative role; adjusting the sickness absence trigger points; providing software, equipment or a support worker; altering how performance is measured; allowing extra time in assessments; and modifying a disciplinary or capability process.

Knowledge. The duty arises where the employer knows, or could reasonably be expected to know, that you are disabled and at a substantial disadvantage. You do not have to use the word “disability” or produce a diagnosis — telling your manager you are struggling with a mental health condition can be enough to put an employer on notice, and “we were never formally told” is frequently not a defence.

Discrimination arising from disability

A distinct claim, and one of the most useful.

It arises where you are treated unfavourably because of something arising in consequence of your disability — not because of the disability itself. Dismissal for absence caused by a disability. A warning for lateness caused by medication. A poor performance rating caused by a condition the employer never adjusted for.

No comparator is needed, which makes it easier to establish than direct discrimination. The employer’s defence is objective justification: showing the treatment was a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim. An employer that never considered adjustments will struggle to show that dismissal was proportionate.

What a claim is worth

No cap. Financial loss for as long as the tribunal accepts it continues, plus injury to feelings under the Vento bands — currently £1,300 to £12,600 (lower), £12,600 to £37,700 (middle), and £37,700 to £62,900 (upper), with more available in exceptional cases.

Disability claims frequently sit in the middle and upper bands because the conduct tends to be prolonged rather than a single incident, and because a personal injury element — for psychiatric harm caused or worsened by the treatment — can be claimed alongside.

What we do

Establish whether you meet the legal definition, which frequently requires an occupational health or medical report addressed to the right questions rather than the wrong ones. Identify which claims the facts support — failure to make adjustments, discrimination arising from disability, direct discrimination, harassment, victimisation — because they are often several. Set out the adjustments that should have been made. And negotiate or litigate.

Time limits

Three months less one day currently, rising to six months from 1 October 2026 for acts on or after that date, with Acas conciliation first.

For a continuing failure to make adjustments, time generally runs from the point the employer decided not to act, or from when it can be inferred they decided — which is often later than people fear. Worth checking rather than assuming you are out of time.

Questions

Questions people ask us

My employer says I am not disabled. Are they right?

Often not. The test is a physical or mental impairment with a substantial — meaning more than minor or trivial — and long-term adverse effect on normal day-to-day activities, assessed as if any treatment were not there. Employers apply a much higher threshold than the law does.

Does my mental health condition count?

It can. Depression, anxiety, PTSD, ADHD and autism all regularly qualify. The question is the effect on day-to-day activities and whether it has lasted or is likely to last twelve months, not the label.

My condition is controlled by medication. Am I still disabled?

Possibly yes. The effect is assessed as if the treatment were not being received. This is one of the most commonly misunderstood parts of the test and it works in your favour.

I never told them it was a disability. Can I still claim?

Potentially. The duty arises where the employer knew or could reasonably be expected to know. Telling a manager you are struggling with a condition, or extensive sickness absence with a stated cause, can be enough.

They refused my adjustment because of cost. Is that allowed?

Cost is one factor in whether a step is reasonable, alongside effectiveness, practicability and the employer’s size and resources. It is not a complete answer, and a large employer citing modest cost will struggle.

Can I claim for the effect on my health?

Yes. Where the treatment caused or worsened a psychiatric injury, a personal injury element can be claimed in the tribunal alongside the discrimination claim. It is frequently overlooked.

The hub

Equality Act 2010 →

Also in this area

Race discrimination at work →

Also in this area

Sex discrimination, pregnancy and maternity →

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