What Disabled Employees Can Ask For at Work (And What They Can’t)

It is critical for disabled employees to know their rights at work. Knowing what you can and can’t ask for work takes the guesswork out of things. It allows you to ask for what you need and get exactly what support you are entitled to.

At Careers with Disabilities, we know just how important getting the right support at work is when you are a disabled person. We understand that the appropriate support at work can mean the difference between a disabled person staying in employment and being happy there, or becoming unemployed and financially unstable. 

There still remains a significant employment gap between disabled and non-disabled people in the U.K. This is in no small part due to the fact that many disabled employees do not feel that they are able to get what they need to work comfortably, safely, and happily. However, we believe that this doesn’t have to be the case.

In this blog, we want to talk about what exactly disabled employees can ask for at work, and what they can’t. We hope this helps you stand up for your rights at work and get what you need both now and in the future. 

Let’s start with what you can ask for as a disabled person at work…

Help in the Application/Recruitment Process

Before entering any workplace, disabled people are entitled to help in the application and recruitment process. Reasonable adjustments at work, which we will discuss in more detail, are enforceable right from this early stage. 

There are many adjustments that can be made for interviews and applications which may be of use to disabled candidates. They can include changes to physical accessibility or the provision of alternative formats. Within reason and where possible, whatever a disabled person needs to feel that they have a fair and equal opportunity throughout a recruitment process should be implemented.

While receiving this support will require disclosing your disability during recruitment, it doesn’t mean it will put you at a disadvantage. It should only act to help you get the support you need. If you feel that a decision has been made regarding your employment due to your disability, this is illegal discrimination. 

Financial Support 

There are a few different avenues of financial support for disabled people at work. Financial benefits aren’t only for those not in employment. You may be able to claim PIP and other government benefits in relation to your disability and how it affects you on a daily basis. There are also schemes such as the Access to Work scheme which directly help you get the support and adjustments you need at work with financial help. 

Always make sure you know what options are available to you and make the most of them. You can read more about what financial support might be available to you as a working disabled person through our linked guide. 

Reasonable Adjustments

Reasonable adjustments are one of the main ways in which disabled employees can get what they need at work. These adjustments are legally required and they must be made by employers whenever requested, as long as they are physically possible and deemed “reasonable”. 

Examples of reasonable adjustments at work might include:

• Provision of extra equipment
• Changes in seating position
• The option to work from home
• Time off
• Exemption from certain duties
• Longer deadlines
• Reduced workloads

And so on. Whatever reasonable adjustments will be helpful to specific people will depend on their disability, condition, or illness and how it affects them. All disabled people have unique experiences at work, so it is important that reasonable adjustments are dealt with individually.

It is important to remember that disabled employees are entitled to make reasonable adjustment requests. It is not a problem to ask for what you need at work. If it is made to be a problem, you are working for the wrong employer. You may even have a legal case on your hands. Asking for what you need and getting it is exactly what should happen at work. 

Disability-Related Leave

Some people with disabilities may need more leave from work than their colleagues. In most workplaces, there are penalties and procedures attached to taking “too much” leave. Therefore, it is important that policies are established to protect disabled people from this when their absences are directly related to their disability. 

For example, if a workplace has a system whereby a certain number of absences triggers a certain scenario, such as a disciplinary meeting, this should be altered for disabled people. If an absence is related to a disability, it typically should not count in such trigger systems. This allows disabled people to be absent when they need to and avoid unfair penalties they cannot prevent.

When you start working somewhere, make sure you are clear on what their policies on leave and disability-related leave are. If there is a problem, be sure to raise it as soon as possible.

Equitable Treatment 

Overall, what disabled employees can ask for and should expect at work is equitable treatment. Not equal, but equitable. Disabled people require more support than non-disabled people at work and this means that equal support would not be sufficient. There needs to be support that actively allows disabled employees to overcome typical boundaries in employment. That is what makes it fair.

Reasonable adjustments, financial help, disability-related leave, and equity should all be a given at work for disabled people. If you are not getting all of these criteria in your current job, it may be time to move.

Where to Learn More

At Careers with Disabilities, we have lots of information that can help you in your search for an accessible job as a disabled person. 

We have tonnes of support for disabled people on our site, with guides on everything from finding financial support in your area to learning about support for individual disabilities and conditions on our Disability Advice Hub. 

We can also help you find your next job via our disability-friendly job board. There, we post accessible jobs from Disability Confident employers who will offer you the exact kind of support you need at work.

Take a look at everything we have to offer. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to get in touch.