Reasonable Adjustments
Some people with disabilities may face barriers at work because of some feature of their work situation which could readily be altered.
Making these changes is commonly referred to as ‘reasonable adjustments’. Employers can be required by law to make reasonable adjustments to the workplace. Failure to do so may be discrimination.
Adjustments should respond to the particular needs of the worker. Examples of adjustments include changes to work premises, changes to work schedules, modifying equipment or providing training.
Example: An employer obtained a larger computer screen and zooming software to allow a clerical worker with vision impairment to perform word processing tasks.
Employers are not required to make adjustments to their workplace if they can prove that an adjustment would be too expensive, difficult or time consuming or cause some other hardship. This is called ‘unjustifiable hardship’.
The Federal Government can provide financial assistance for workplace adjustments for employees with disabilities. See the Job Access Employee Assistance Fund page for more information.
- Good Practice, Good Business: What is disability discrimination?
- Disability Action Plans – A guide for business
- Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission, Come in, we’re accessible
- See our IncludeAbility website, which is dedicated to the inclusion of people with disabilities in the workplace.
