Osteoporosis, back pain and work

I’m struggling with work due to my impairment. Does my employer have to help me?

Your employer has a duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled staff members. This duty aims, as far as reasonable, to ensure disabled employees have the same access to everything they need for doing and keeping their job as a non-disabled employee. These reasonable adjustments apply to physical features of the premises, or any other aspect of the role which causes a substantial disadvantage to you, the disabled employee, compared to a non-disabled employee.

Employers also have a duty to provide you with additional aids where this would reduce or remove a substantial disadvantage. This includes providing information in accessible formats, such as easy-to-read or large print.

Many adjustments can be made at low or no cost to your employer. There is help out there to assess what adjustments may be necessary for you to do your job. What is reasonable for your employer to do depends on the size and nature of the organisation.

The government's Access to Work scheme can provide practical advice and support to help you overcome work-related issues. It can also give you grants towards extra employment costs.

It’s important to note that your employer only has a duty to provide reasonable adjustments if they are aware of or should reasonably be expected to be aware of your impairment.

If your employer does not provide you with reasonable adjustments and you can show that they could have removed barriers, then you may be able to bring a claim against your employer via an employment tribunal.