Adjustments

The provision of adjustments is about identifying where staff experience difficulties or face barriers and then agreeing reasonable ways to remove or reduce that disadvantage. By removing barriers and changing the way things are done, we can provide an inclusive experience of outstanding professional growth for all staff.

Warwick's Adjustments Policy outlines our legal duty to provide reasonable adjustments for disabled staff and our commitment to also provide adjustments for a range of other personal circumstances, needs, or identities that impact staff's ability to perform at their best.

To support a conversation about adjustments, download the Adjustments Agreement form, and guidance.

Find answers to common queries below:

What personal circumstances, needs, or identities can the adjustments policy be used for?

In addition to our legal duty to provide reasonable adjustments for disabled staff, Warwick's adjustments process covers staff who need support in relation to other personal circumstances, needs, or identities. For example, needs relating to:

Faith.
Caring responsibilities.
Gender identity e.g., trans healthcare.
Menopause.
Pregnancy.
Additional English language needs.
Foster caring.

Staff and managers should discuss and identify any barriers and consider adjustments that can help to remove or reduce those barriers. The Adjustments Agreement form can support with this conversation and should be used to retain a record.

What is the process for requesting and implementing adjustments?

If you are a staff member who experiences or anticipates barriers at work due to disability or other personal circumstances, needs, or identities you can raise this directly with your manager for discussion. For disability-related adjustments, you can update your personal record on SuccessFactors to share the disability and select the box confirming you are happy for this to be shared with Human Resources, this will initiate an adjustments discussion.

If you are a manager, remember that you have a responsibility to be pro-active and initiate a discussion with a staff member about potential challenges and adjustments if you spot signs that they may be experiencing barriers.

Once the need for adjustments is identified:

1. The staff member and line manager complete the Adjustments Agreement form to identify barriers and consider adjustments that can help to remove or reduce those barriers. There is guidance above to support this, in addition:

Staff may have assessment reports or previous experience of adjustments in other roles/workplaces which can be used to support requests.
Human Resources can offer advice and coordinate the involvement of experts to conduct assessments and/or help identify helpful adjustments.
Occupational Health can discuss the job requirements and any disability-related barriers with the staff member and suggest possible adjustments.

2. The manager assesses if adjustments are reasonable, in discussion with the staff member and supported by other teams as relevant (such as Human Resources, Health and Safety, IT Services, and Estates). The guidance includes information on how to assess reasonableness.

For adjustments that are not considered reasonable, the manager records the reasoning on the Adjustments Agreement form. Managers should also discuss this decision with a senior manager and/or Human Resources.
For disability-related reasonable adjustments, if there are no reasonable adjustments that will enable the employee to continue in their original role, and there are no other reasonable alternatives available, the staff member may be eligible to join the redeployment register in line with the Redeployment Policy and Sickness Management Policy as appropriate.

3. Agreed adjustments are implemented, recorded, and a date set for a review in the Adjustments Agreement form.

For disability-related reasonable adjustments which necessitate a cost, the manager contacts Human Resources to request funds from the University’s reasonable adjustments budget – contact HRadjustments@warwick.ac.uk.

Is there budget available for adjustments?

Many adjustments do not result in a direct cost – e.g., changing start and finish times or allowing someone to work sitting down – or are inexpensive. Where there is a cost for a disability-related adjustment, budget may possibly be obtained from Human Resources; contact the team on HRadjustments@warwick.ac.uk for more information.

In addition, Access to Work is a government scheme which can help pay for some, or all, of the costs of adjustments for disabled staff.

Please note, disability related adjustments should normally be considered in line with Occupational Health or Access to Work advice. Specialist equipment shouldn't be purchased locally without Occupation Health or Access to Work recommendations.

Where can I get support or more information?

There are sources of help and advice that can be called upon to support discussions of adjustments and assessments of reasonableness, including:

Your Human Resources Business Partner can support discussions between staff and managers. Human Resources also have budget which can be applied to for support of disability-related adjustment costs (see below for more on this).
Occupational Health can provide an assessment on adjustments for disability needs.
Disabled staff can apply to the Access to Work scheme for a workplace assessment which will recommend adjustments and, in most cases, contribute to their cost. This should be discussed with your manager first.
Managers can find guidance on adjustments in Business Disability Forum's People Manager Toolkit (you will need to register with a Warwick email address to access this).
Managers and Human Resources staff can access Business Disability Forum’s confidential Advice Service, a team of experts who give guidance on disability questions.
ACAS gives free, impartial advice on workplace rights, rules, and best practice. They also offer training and help to resolve disputes.
For staff who are a member of one or more trade unions, they will offer advice, support, and representation on workplace issues.
The Disabled Staff Network is open to all staff members with an interest in making the University a more accessible place for all.

Please also refer to the following policies, as relevant:

Flexible Working Guidelines – all employees can request flexible working; this is the formal process used to request a working pattern resulting in contractual changes. If a staff member has a flexible working agreement through this process, they do not need to also record this through this adjustments process.
Hybrid Working Policy – hybrid working means the ability to spend some time working on-campus and some time working remotely.
Carers Leave Policy - the University offers paid carer’s leave to help people who struggle to balance their working responsibilities with caring commitments, by offering them flexibility to provide care and continue to work.
Sickness Management Policy – the University acknowledges that sickness absence may result from disability and that disabled staff may need time off for medical appointments and/or treatment. To support recognition of this, staff can report sickness absences as “disability related”.
Health and Safety Policy – in line with the requirements of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, this policy outlines the duties of staff at the University to take reasonable care of their own and others’ health and safety, follow any health and safety training received, co-operate with the University on health and safety, and tell their manager, supervisor, or health and safety representative about anything putting anyone’s health and safety at serious risk.

In addition, you can find guidance relating to specific areas where adjustments may be requested at the links below:

I/staff I manage already have an adjustment agreement, do I need to redo it on this form? I am a manager, what should I do if…

…someone I manage has requested an adjustment that clashes with another staff member’s adjustments.

There may be times when conflicting rights arise where a staff member requests an adjustment which clashes with a team member’s adjustment in a way which causes a problem e.g., if two staff members wanted to have Fridays off and this meant that no one was in the office on Friday.

The legal position is that when someone asks for an adjustment, they are asking now i.e., with circumstances as they currently are. So, if a staff member requests an adjustment which clashes with another staff member’s existing adjustment, it can be reasonable to say no to the new request. But the best thing to do is consider it together to see if there is a way to meet the organisational needs and get suitable adjustments for both staff members.

In these situations, it should be noted that adjustments relating to disability must take priority over adjustments for other personal circumstances, needs, and identities, because the University has a legal duty to provide reasonable adjustments for disabled staff.

…someone I manage has requested that the barriers they experience, and the adjustments agreed not be shared with the team, but this negatively impacts the adjustments that can be made.

In considering adjustments, it is important to talk about confidentiality. A staff member has a right to request that the existence or nature of a disability or other personal circumstances, needs, or identities be treated as confidential.

However, in some instances, ensuring confidentiality might mean that adjustments must be provided in an alternative way, that it is only possible to provide a less satisfactory adjustment, or that no adjustment can be provided.

This should be discussed between the staff member and manager to ensure this is understood and agreed upon.

If you have any other questions about adjustments email us at .

See examples of adjustments that Warwick staff have found useful below:

Reason for adjustment: My wife and I became Foster Carers in 2023.

Barrier experienced: The Social Care system is complex and every child who comes into care has their own unique story, support needs and family circumstances. When a new child has been placed with us, there have been lots of visits and appointments along with a huge adjustment for our family. Added to this, the role calls for a fair amount of mandatory training and frequent CPD. Particularly during the first month of a placement, I have needed flexibility, understanding and emotional support from my line manager and wider team.

Adjustments agreed: Flexible working to accommodate visits from Social Workers, Family time and Child in Care reviews. Time to complete mandatory training, particularly when it is related to my role. 'Carers leave' to look after a foster child when my wife has been unavailable due to training or appointments. Check ins and support during one to one meetings with my manager.

Reason for adjustment: Symptoms of menopause, i.e. - low mood - headaches - lack of energy.

Barrier experienced: Low mood was interpreted as non-collegiate behaviour that was contrary to Warwick Values, and this interpretation was later used to inform performance-related assessments. Extended sedentary periods at my desk, particularly in front of a screen contributed to these symptoms.

Adjustments agreed: Adjustments requested included regular screen/movement breaks, and empathy from management regarding low mood. Sadly, the latter aspect was not honoured by my original line manager, which prompted a move into a new team. Thankfully, my needs have been accounted for by my new managers, and so the transferable nature of the passport has been very successful

For an idea of what a completed adjustments form might look like, please see the (fictional) examples below:

If you’re comfortable to do so, we invite you to share your adjustments too, to give other staff ideas about the kinds of adjustments they can request.

Read the Social Inclusion Annual Report for more about social inclusion at Warwick and the action we're taking.

The Social Inclusion Annual Report highlights the work that has been taking place across the University over the last year, and how it is helping us to meet our Social Inclusion Strategy objectives to increase the diversity of our staff and student communities, develop an inclusive culture, and become an internationally recognised leader in inclusion.