Resource guide
Reasonable Adjustments and the Equality Act 2010
A calm, practical guide to what the Equality Act 2010 means, who it protects, and how reasonable adjustments work in real life for employers, service providers, and organisations.
By Calling All Minds·Last updated April 2026
friendly, practical guidance
Clear language, not legal lecture.
work, services and digital journeys
Focused on day-to-day reality.
Equality Act 2010 context
Grounded in current UK guidance.
fairness, dignity and inclusion
Built around real experience.
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This guide is for people who want a clear explanation of the Equality Act 2010, especially the parts that matter most in day-to-day organisational life.
It is written for employers, managers, service providers, education teams, accessibility leads, and anyone trying to do the right thing without getting lost in legal language.
The most important idea in this guide is simple. Equality is not only about avoiding obviously unfair treatment. It is also about making sure people can take part, use services, do their job, and move through a system without unnecessary disadvantage.
What this page covers
A plain English explanation of the Act, the protected characteristics, the duty to make reasonable adjustments, real examples, and why systems matter.
Why it matters now
Many organisations care about fairness but still handle adjustments inconsistently. Clearer understanding makes better practice much easier.
Guide
What the Equality Act 2010 is
The Equality Act 2010 is the main law in Great Britain that protects people from discrimination in work and wider society.
It brought together earlier discrimination laws into one framework, making the law easier to navigate and giving people protections in areas such as employment, services, education, premises, and public functions.
For this resource, the most important point is that the Act does not only ask organisations to avoid unfair treatment. In disability cases, it can also require them to take positive practical steps to reduce disadvantage.
Guide
Who it protects
The Act protects people with protected characteristics. In this guide, disability is especially important, but it sits within a wider framework.
- age
- disability
- gender reassignment
- marriage and civil partnership
- pregnancy and maternity
- race
- religion or belief
- sex
- sexual orientation
Disability is especially relevant here because it is the protected characteristic linked to the duty to make reasonable adjustments. Under official UK guidance, a person is disabled if they have a physical or mental impairment with a substantial and long-term adverse effect on normal day-to-day activities.
Guide
The duties that matter most
The Act covers many forms of unlawful treatment. For most organisations reading this page, two areas matter most in practice.
- Do not discriminate against people because of a protected characteristic.
- Do not harass or victimise people because of a protected characteristic.
- Make reasonable adjustments for disabled people where the law requires it.
- In public sector settings, think actively about equality when shaping policy and services.
The duty that usually raises the most questions
Reasonable adjustments are often where good intentions meet operational reality. Teams may broadly understand that disabled people need fair access, but still struggle with what to change, how to record it, who should act, and how to keep support consistent over time.
Core
Reasonable adjustments in plain English
A reasonable adjustment is a change that helps remove or reduce a disadvantage a disabled person faces.
- A reasonable adjustment is a change that removes or reduces a disadvantage for a disabled person.
- It is not about special treatment. It is about fair access.
- An adjustment might involve a process, a format, a working pattern, a tool, or the environment itself.
- What is reasonable depends on the situation, the size and resources of the organisation, and how effective the adjustment is likely to be.
- Many good adjustments are small, low cost, and mainly require thought, consistency, and follow-through.
In real life, this could mean changing how information is provided, giving more time, adjusting a process, offering an accessible format, changing a workspace, making a form easier to complete, or providing practical support or equipment.
Core
Real examples
The best way to understand reasonable adjustments is to see what they look like in ordinary situations.
At work
Flexible hours, extra time for written tasks, quieter workspaces, assistive technology, more structured communication, or changes to how meetings and deadlines are handled.
In recruitment
Interview questions in advance, longer test time, alternative assessment methods, accessible formats, or making sure the interview process itself is usable.
In services
Plain language communication, alternative ways to contact the organisation, easier forms, better support through a process, or a more accessible digital journey.
In learning and training
Transcripts, lecture notes in advance, captions, structured modules, extra time, or more predictable navigation in learning systems.
Core
Who needs to make them
Reasonable adjustments are not only an employment issue. They matter anywhere an organisation creates a barrier that can be reduced.
- Employers and recruiters
- Service providers and customer-facing businesses
- Education providers and training organisations
- Public bodies and organisations carrying out public functions
- Large organisations and small businesses alike
In services, the law can require organisations to think ahead about accessibility rather than waiting for one individual to complain. In employment, the duty is often more individual, based on what a particular person needs in a specific context.
Practice
Digital accessibility, neurodiversity and why systems matter
Reasonable adjustments are not only about physical spaces. Websites, portals, forms, intranets, and staff systems can all create disadvantage.
A dense form, confusing workflow, weak error message, or overloaded dashboard can become a barrier just as easily as a locked door. This matters especially for neurodivergent people and for anyone dealing with stress, fatigue, memory difficulties, or information overload.
Good accessibility reduces friction before a person has to ask for extra support. Good adjustment practice then fills the remaining gaps with more personalised support where it is needed.
Digital accessibility helps everyone
Clear headings, predictable journeys, strong labels, and simpler language support a wide range of people, not only those who identify as disabled.
Systems often fail through inconsistency
Many organisations do not fail because they do not care. They fail because adjustment information is scattered, informal, repeated, or lost between teams and tools.
Practice
How AXS Passport helps
The law creates duties. Good systems help organisations carry them out more clearly and consistently.
AXS Passport is designed to support better adjustment practice by helping people record needs clearly, reduce repeated disclosure, and make agreed support easier to understand across an organisation.
It is not a substitute for legal judgement or human conversation. It is a practical way to improve continuity, clarity, and follow-through so that reasonable adjustments do not depend on memory, goodwill, or one supportive manager.
Why this matters
A person should not have to start from zero every time they move team, role, line manager, or support channel.
What better looks like
A clearer record, an agreed plan, regular review, and more confidence that support will actually be delivered in practice.
Practice
Enforcement and next steps
The law can be enforced through tribunals, courts, and regulatory action, but most organisations are better served by preventing problems before they become disputes.
Employment issues may end up in an employment tribunal. Service-related issues may go through the courts. The Equality and Human Rights Commission also has an important role in promoting and enforcing equality law.
The current legal context can change over time. For example, on 16 April 2025 the UK Supreme Court held in For Women Scotland v Scottish Ministers that the terms “woman”, “man”, and “sex” in the Equality Act 2010 refer to biological sex. That ruling is part of the current legal landscape and should be read directly if it is relevant to your organisation’s policies.
A sensible next step
Review one journey or process this month. Look at how someone asks for support, how that decision is recorded, who acts on it, and whether the support is reviewed later. Small improvements here can make a very real difference.
Equality Act 2010 guidance
The UK Government overview of the Equality Act 2010 and its main protections.
Open source
Definition of disability under the Equality Act 2010
A simple official explanation of what counts as disability under the Act.
Open source
Reasonable adjustments at work
Acas guidance with practical examples, process advice, and review good practice.
Open source
For Women Scotland v Scottish Ministers
The UK Supreme Court press summary published on 16 April 2025 on interpretation of sex in the Equality Act 2010.
Open source
Turn reasonable adjustments into a clearer process
Good adjustment practice depends on listening well, recording clearly, reviewing regularly, and avoiding repeated disclosure. AXS Passport is designed to help organisations manage that process more consistently and with more dignity for the individual.