Legal Rights: What Does the Equality Act 2010 Say About Workplace Adjustments?
The Equality Act 2010 is the backbone of workplace adjustment rights in Great Britain. It does not offer suggestions. It sets a legal duty.
That duty is called the duty to make reasonable adjustments. Its purpose is simple: to prevent disabled people being placed at a disadvantage at work because of how jobs, workplaces, or processes are designed.
You can read the statutory wording here:
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/section/20
Understanding what the Act actually says matters, because many workplace problems arise not from disagreement, but from uncertainty about what the law requires.
What is the duty to make reasonable adjustments?
The Equality Act requires employers to take reasonable steps to remove disadvantages experienced by disabled people at work.
The duty applies when a disabled person is placed at a substantial disadvantage compared with someone who is not disabled, because of:
a workplace rule, policy, or way of working
a physical feature of the workplace
the absence of an aid or support
These are not optional considerations. They are the specific situations the law is designed to address.
Who does the duty apply to?
The duty applies to:
job applicants
employees and workers
some self-employed people where work arrangements apply
It applies regardless of organisation size. There is no exemption for small businesses, start-ups, or charities.
What changes with size is not whether the duty exists, but what is considered reasonable in context.
What counts as a disability under the Act?
The Equality Act uses a functional definition, not a label-based one.
A person is disabled if they have a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term negative effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.
This includes many non-visible and fluctuating conditions. It also means someone may be legally protected even if they do not personally identify as disabled.
The focus is on impact, not diagnosis.
When is the duty triggered?
The duty is triggered when:
a disabled person is disadvantaged at work, and
the employer knows, or could reasonably be expected to know, about the disability and the disadvantage
This can happen at recruitment, after disclosure, during performance discussions, following absence, or when work changes create new barriers.
Waiting for a perfect request or a formal diagnosis is not required.
What does the law expect employers to do?
The Act does not prescribe a fixed list of adjustments. Instead, it expects employers to:
identify the disadvantage
consider steps that would remove or reduce it
implement changes that are reasonable in the circumstances
ACAS summarises this clearly and is often used as a practical reference point for employers:
https://www.acas.org.uk/reasonable-adjustments
Importantly, employers do not have to agree to every request exactly as made. They do have to engage, explore options, and aim to remove the disadvantage.
What the Equality Act does not allow
The Act does not allow employers to:
ignore adjustment requests
delay unreasonably once a need is clear
rely on assumptions about what someone “should be able to cope with”
treat disability-related disadvantage as a performance issue without considering adjustments
A failure to make reasonable adjustments is a form of disability discrimination in its own right.
How reasonableness is judged
Reasonableness is judged case by case. Factors commonly considered include:
whether the adjustment would reduce the disadvantage
how practical it is to implement
cost relative to the employer’s resources
health and safety implications
whether alternatives exist
The Equality Act sets the framework, but decisions must still be evidence-based and defensible.
Why the law still breaks down in practice
The law itself is clear. What breaks down is implementation.
Common problems include:
inconsistent decisions between managers
informal agreements that are never recorded
adjustments agreed but not reviewed
knowledge lost when roles or managers change
None of these remove the legal duty. They simply increase risk.
Why structure matters
The Equality Act does not require perfection. It requires reasonable steps.
That means employers need a way to:
capture when the duty is triggered
identify suitable adjustments
record decisions and reasoning
review adjustments over time
Without structure, even well-meaning organisations end up relying on memory and guesswork.
This is exactly the gap TryMosaic exists to close.
TryMosaic provides a clear, auditable way to identify, agree, and track workplace adjustments so the legal duty is met consistently, without turning every request into a legal exercise.
Next steps
Read more here
FAQs: Equality Act 2010 and reasonable adjustments
Does the Equality Act require employers to make adjustments?
Yes. The duty to make reasonable adjustments is a legal requirement, not optional guidance.
Are employers required to make adjustments for job applicants?
Yes. The duty applies during recruitment as well as during employment.
Does an employer have to do exactly what an employee asks for?
No. Employers can offer alternatives, but they must still aim to remove the disadvantage.
Is failing to make adjustments discrimination?
Yes. A failure to make reasonable adjustments is a specific form of disability discrimination under the Act.
