Making workplace adjustments

Overview

Australian law and international agreements require employers to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ to support people with disability to gain and maintain employment.

Workplace adjustments are changes that enable people with disability to have equal employment opportunities and work effectively. These changes may include changes to work practices, modifications to facilities, or access to specific aids or equipment and can be:

• administrative – the way tasks are done
• environmental – changes to the physical workspace
• procedural changes – changes to policies that guide how work is done.⁴ 

There are different terms used for workplace adjustment, including ‘reasonable accommodation’ or ‘reasonable adjustment’. Another way to think about workplace adjustments is as a part of creating a flexible workplace along with things such as offering study leave or flexible work arrangements for carers. As part of a flexible workplace, workplace adjustments help people with disability to:

• do the essential parts of their job safely (this is also called meeting the ‘inherent requirements' of the job)
• have the same opportunities when applying for jobs, promotions and training
• be treated fairly at work, including pay and conditions
• work effectively and achieve their best.⁵

Research consistently shows that workplace adjustments benefit both employees and employers. Adjustments such as flexible work practices, accessible workplaces, assistive technology and inclusive hiring help people with disability enter, remain in and work longer hours in employment.^{6 7}

Key strategies for success

Employment services play an important role in helping create inclusive workplaces by working with jobseekers and employers. Some key strategies to support this include:

• personalising workplace adjustments according to each individual and their needs and the job context
• encouraging accessible practices in workplaces such as:
  • inclusive recruitment practices
  • access to assistive technologies such as screen reading and speech recognition software, visual alert systems for phones, doors and alarms, talking cash registers, desks and chairs that can be adjusted, automatic doors and devices to control noise.
  • good environmental design
  • offering flexible work conditions and hours
  • having clear reasonable adjustment policies to support consistent implementation by line managers. ⁸
• understanding that workplace adjustments may need to be adapted or updated as roles or workplace settings change.