Reasonable adjustments in organisations – best practice for disability inclusion
Flexible working laws are changing
From 6 April 2024, your employees will have the legal right to request permanent changes to their contract from their first day of employment.
If you run a business, you will need to change how you manage flexible working requests.
Employees can request changes to how long, when and where they work from their first day of employment, and will no longer have to explain what impact, if any, their flexible working request would have on your organisation and how it could be overcome.
As an employer, you must manage these requests in a reasonable manner. You can only reject a request for one of eight business reasons.
Securing reasonable adjustments consistently emerged as the most significant barrier for disabled and neurodivergent people in the profession in the Legally Disabled? research launched in 2020.
Together with the Legally Disabled? research team, our Disabled Solicitors Network committee have created guidance to help organisations understand what they're legally obliged to do in terms of reasonable adjustments, and how to implement them.
The guidance includes real examples from many firms and organisations collated to share best practice of what’s being done and is working right now.
This will also be valuable information for disabled people working in the legal profession, as it shows what is possible and practical.
The guidance also contains a terminology and language section, explaining many terms and concepts relating to disability inclusion.
Thanks to all the firms and organisations who contributed to the guidance – especially the following, who agreed to be named within the body:
| Allen & Overy | Government Legal Department |
| Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner | Herbert Smith Freehills |
| Cartridges Law | JCP Solicitors |
| Charles Russell Speechlys | Julie West Solicitors |
| Clifford Chance | Linklaters |
| DAC Beachcroft | Mills & Reeve |
| DWF | Shoosmiths |
| Eversheds Sutherland | Slaughter and May |
| Freeths | Stephenson Harwood |
| Freshfields | Travers Smith |
Download the full report
Reasonable adjustments in organisations – guidance for best practice (PDF 1.9 MB)
Further resources
Take a look at our guidance on easy wins and action points for disability inclusion
Find out more about the Legally Disabled? project
Stay up to date with us by following our Twitter page @LawSocDI and by following our dedicated LinkedIn and Facebook groups