Adjustments that really work
Reasonable adjustments, hidden disabilities and neurodiversity at work.
- Level
- Bitesize
- Learning time
- 2 hours
- Where
- Managing well
- Price
- £39
When you step up to a higher level, what you paid in the last 12 months for lower-level courses inside the bigger course comes off its price, in proportion to how much of each is inside it, whichever topic it's from. Courses at the same or a lower level don't give credit against each other. A Focus course or above always costs at least £15. Read the full terms
Certificate of Completion
Content Note.
This topic is about mental health at work. Part 3, Safe to Speak, Safe to Seek Help, talks about suicide and how to respond when someone is in crisis. It follows the Samaritans' guidance on talking about suicide safely and gives no detail of methods. Take it at your own pace, pause whenever you need to, and come back to it later if that helps.
If you need to talk to someone now, call Samaritans free on 116 123, any time, day or night. For urgent mental health help, call NHS 111 (in Wales press 2, in England choose option 2; in Scotland NHS 24 is also on 111). In Northern Ireland, call Lifeline on 0808 808 8000. If a life is at risk, call 999.
Overview and Outcomes.
Overview
The right adjustment, made early, lets people do their best work, and many colleagues live with conditions you cannot see. The course opens with when a mental health condition counts as a disability under the Equality Act 2010, the duty to make reasonable adjustments, Access to Work and the duty of care in Hatton v Sutherland. It then turns to hidden and fluctuating conditions, from long Covid to endometriosis, Christine Miserandino's spoon theory, the Griffiths case and the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower. It closes with neurodiversity: the Job Demands-Resources model, Nancy Doyle's spiky profile, the Buckland Review and an honest look at hiring programmes at SAP, Microsoft and GCHQ.
What you'll develop
In this Bitesize, you will develop the ability to:
- Explain when a mental health condition meets the Equality Act 2010 definition of disability, and why a diagnosis is not the test.
- Explain how the Equality Act definition of disability applies to hidden, recurring, treated and fluctuating conditions, including mental health conditions.
- Distinguish neurodiversity from neurodivergent and compare the deficit, superpower and spiky profile framings of neurodivergence.
- Plan reasonable adjustments with a colleague by focusing on barriers, recording what is agreed and reviewing it.
- Plan flexible adjustments for fluctuating conditions and fatigue, and manage disability-related absence fairly, including considering adjustments to trigger points.
- Apply the Job Demands-Resources model to reduce demands and add resources for neurodivergent colleagues in daily work and management.
- Describe the duty of care set out in Walker, Hatton and Barber, and what it requires of a manager once they know someone is struggling.
- Create conditions in which disclosure feels safe, handling health information confidentially and lowering the cost of asking for an adjustment.
The Modules.
2 hours of learning.
- 04The Law: Disability, Adjustments and Access to WorkThis module shows that, read properly, the law asks for much the same things as good management. It covers when a mental health condition is a disability under the Equality Act 2010, the duty to make reasonable adjustments, the Access to Work Mental Health Support Service, and the common law duty of care through Walker, Hatton v Sutherland and Barber. The message: adjust early, write it down, follow up.36 min
- 12Hidden Disabilities and Long-term ConditionsMany colleagues live with conditions you cannot see. This module covers when long-term, recurring and treated conditions count as a disability under the Equality Act, mental health conditions, fluctuating conditions from long Covid to endometriosis, and Christine Miserandino's spoon theory. It then looks at disclosure, fair management of disability-related absence including the Griffiths case, and lessons from the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower and the TfL Please offer me a seat badge.39 min
- 13Neurodiversity at WorkNeurodiversity has moved quickly into the mainstream, bringing progress alongside cliché. This module covers the history of the idea in autistic communities, the Job Demands-Resources model of Bakker and Demerouti, the main neurodivergent conditions, and Nancy Doyle's spiky profile as an alternative to deficit and superpower views. It sets out the UK policy picture, including the Buckland Review, and reads hiring programmes at SAP, Microsoft and GCHQ honestly.42 min