AIBU to think employers aren’t going nearly far enough with adjustments and that ableist attitudes are still totally normalised?

[coffeeandmycats]

I’m honestly so fed up with how “reasonable adjustments” are treated like some kind of special favour or workplace charity. They’re not. They’re a legal duty under the Equality Act, and they exist because without them, disabled people are shut out of employment or slowly squeezed out once they’re in.
Every time someone says “we couldn’t adjust the role” or “it wouldn’t be fair on the team,” what they usually mean is “we didn’t want to deal with it.” And that’s what drives me mad how often laziness, bias or lack of imagination is brushed off as “just being realistic.” That’s not realism. That’s ableism.
Most jobs can be adjusted. If someone can’t do one task but can do everything else why is the answer to push them out, instead of reshuffling the tasks or offering alternatives? We do this all the time in other settings. You wouldn’t chuck a kid out of school because they struggle with stairs. But in work, suddenly job specs are sacred texts.
And now, with the government trying to push more disabled people back into work (often with threats of benefit sanctions), where is the structural support? Employers still get to decide whether something is “reasonable,” even when they’ve shown time and again that they don’t understand or don’t care. That’s not a system that’s a gamble.
We should be encouraging every disabled person denied adjustments to take their employer straight to tribunal. I don’t care if it’s uncomfortable the law needs to be enforced. But also, it shouldn’t have to get that far. There should be an independent ombudsman-style service that employers must subscribe to something that can assess adjustment requests fairly and quickly, without making the disabled person go to war to be heard.
And honestly? If a business can’t afford to make space for disabled people, whether that’s with flexibility, equipment, transport help or task reallocation, then maybe they shouldn’t be in business. If your model only works when everyone is 100% able-bodied, then your model is broken. Shut it down.
AIBU to think we’ve got this totally backwards? That we’re still treating inclusion like a bonus feature instead of a basic requirement? That people who need adjustments are somehow seen as the problem instead of the systems and attitudes around them?
I’m sure this will rub some people the wrong way. Maybe that’s the point.

That’s a fair concern but actually, there is a fund already. It’s called Access to Work, and it’s run by the government. It can cover a wide range of costs related to reasonable adjustments: transport, support workers, specialist equipment, even mental health support. Employers and employees can apply, and in many cases, it means the business doesn’t have to carry the full cost.
The problem is exactly what you said most people, including many employers, just don’t know it exists or how to use it. Promotion and access definitely need improvement. But cost alone isn’t always a barrier especially when support is available and the law still expects employers to explore every option first.

So majority of businesses are SMEs run on extremely tight margins. Ridiculous to say that they shouldn't exist!! They have been hammered with NI rise + NMW wage rises, for many of them there simply isn't the money there to take on a disabled worker when they can get an able bodied (or NT) worker for less cost + paperwork.
If you want true parity then employers need to be supported financially and administratively.

Her family sound like vexatious litigants.

I think its much easier for larger organisations to implement reasonable adjustments. If you are a small business with only a handful of employees, you can't redeploy someone or shuffle tasks. If you only have a receptionist, bookkeeper and a driver, how can you ask a non driving, non bookeeping qualified receptionist to do those roles if asked about shuffling roles?

'On another thread, a lot of people were turning their noses up at adjustments like allowing short breaks between tasks or letting someone step away when overwhelmed things often needed by people with conditions like autism, anxiety, or chronic illness. These kinds of adjustments have been upheld by Employment Tribunals and are fully supported under the Equality Act.'

Reasonable adjustments should be such things as ramps for wheelchair access, adapted phones, adapted chairs, perhaps time off for counselling or physio.

Reasonable adjustments should not be allowing more breaks/longer breaks or letting people step away. Whether disabled or abled if you aren't up to the role then you need to find one you can do.

No, my family just believe that disability shouldn’t be a barrier to fair treatment at work. If an employer breaks the law, they should be held accountable just like anyone else. Standing up for your rights doesn’t make you vexatious, it makes you informed.

I work in the public sector so maybe it's different but we have loads of people with reasonable adjustments for all kinds of reasons

as it should be everywhere!

How do you suggest small businesses pay for these breakout rooms for autistic people to chill in whilst everybody else is working?

Completely disagree with you op and I say this as someone with a disability. I would not expect any employer to make lots of adjustments for me and would feel terrible that it would be putting more work on my colleagues. If I feel I can't do the job I started then I would quit

Very different cos taxpayer is footing the bill. In private companies the owner of the company is footing the bill and in many SMEs there simply won't be the money there

I think one of the real challenges here is how the system is abused, or misunderstood, or taken advantage of by a vocal minority. Which the undermines it for those who need it.

The bits that get the most airtime are self diagnosed ASD / ADHD who solely look for adjustments that reduce their commute / reduce their deliverables / lower expectations for someone in the role / reduce working time without a pay reduction. Many of which would not be deemed reasonable but they push for them anyway and rely on fear of tribunal from their organisation to get them.

When then removes capacity from the organisation for genuine reasonable adjustments, and also damages the reputation of the system.

using the access to work fund, it doesn't have to be a quiet room it could be stepping outside for 5 minutes etc..

I think the problem comes when people requesting the "adjustments" or the employer pays no attention at all to the impact on everyone else.

I have really had my feelings about this affected by a recent experience with somebody very difficult at work.

The sorts of reasonable adjustments she asked for (and refused to come into the office until they were in place) included no last minute changes. So she complained for example when our manager called off a team meeting because there was nothing to discuss that week. She wanted us all to sit there anyway, because she found it hard that the plan had changed.

I have children with asd so I do understand that changes can be challenging, but the reality is that if other people are adversely affected with no acknowledged then that will breed resentment.

Do some research. People have been banned for bringing disability discrimination claims constantly in the way that your family does. The court will eventually have them declared a vexatious litigant and be banned from bringing claims again.

9 claims is a massive amount for one family.

Don't believe me, do the research, and I am also a solicitor by the way.

But only if there is a role that exists and has a vacancy.

Your ideas are great on paper but assume businesses all have far more flexibility (and deeper pockets) than I've experienced in decades of dealing with RAs.

YANBU. I’m in the Civil Service and they’ve been banging on about 60% attendance for ages 🥱 🥱 Due to my disability, I negotiated down to 10% a month (once a fortnight) but tbh, I rarely go. I’ve been in about 5 times this year. I work way better from home and there’s no need for me to go in, so I actively avoid it.

I agree there's saving in scale, but also certainly in my area an awful lot is expected of people for salaries the private sector wouldn't get away with, but it's worth it for things like pension and reasonable adjustments. I've had a few team members get assessed for neuro diversity since joining, via occupational health and then there are loads of things can be put in place for no out little cost, flex working times for example, a seat in a quiet part of the office by natural light, noise cancelling headphones. It's genuinely a supportive working environment. The workload is huge and very stressful so we need to do everything we can to keep the people who can and want to do it!

There are people out there, like me, who do have several registered disabilities, yet I would never expect adjustments. The only thing I ever asked an employer was to be aware that I may be seen popping to the loo more frequently as I have a bladder condition as a result of an autoimmune disease.
I also have Asperger’s.

Personally, I wouldn’t choose a job that I couldn’t fulfil the role fully.

The Equality Act, imo is a flawed piece of legislation. The definition of disability is woolly and basically allows people to claim a disability because they’re anxious and want to work from home. Who is paying for these reasonable adjustments? We have someone at work constantly off sick-6 months here, then a few months later, 4 months there. Then they want adjustment. The company are trying to run a profitable business plus the staff want to do a good job not carry the work of someone who has discovered they don’t have to do very much if they say they have anxiety.

25 years ago when I worked for the council there was a real desire to get disabled people working there. I worked with one woman who was almost blind, I don’t think she would even get past the application process now as there was lots of allowances made for her.
we also worked with lots and lots of groups with disabilities (arts) and thats all disappeared in favour of working with LGBTQ+ groups instead. I think it’s very sad.

I sat in a HR office a few years ago where the HR team talked about how they were going to get rid of a member of staff. She had a degenerative disease and used a powered wheelchair. Her ability to move around had gotten slower, so when she went to the bathroom/lunch it took her longer. They then talked about how working gave her a purpose in life.

I think we’ve gone very backwards.