A practical guide for staff and line managers

Universities employ people with a wide range of disabilities. Some are visible, many are not. Some are lifelong, some are newly acquired, and many fluctuate over time. Mental health conditions, neurodivergence, chronic illness, and the long-term effects of injury or trauma are all recognised forms of disability in UK law, alongside physical impairments.

This post sets out:

• the legal protections that apply to disabled staff,
• how Occupational Health (OH) and Health & Wellbeing services fit into that framework,
• what “reasonable adjustments” really mean in law (and what they do not mean),
• and how sick leave and return-to-work processes should operate in practice.

Jump to section:

1. Legal protections for disabled staff
2. If you have (or may have) a disability: what to do next
3. Reasonable adjustments: responsibilities and realities
4. Sick leave and returning to work
5. Final thoughts

Each section includes guidance both for staff members and for line managers, recognising that many managers want to do the right thing but are not always given clear or accurate advice.

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Legal protections for disabled staff

What the law says (for everyone)

The Equality Act 2010 protects disabled people from discrimination at work. Crucially:

• Disability includes mental health conditions, neurodivergence, and long-term or fluctuating conditions, not only physical impairments.
• A person may have multiple disabilities, and those disabilities may change over time.
• What is “reasonable” is individual, context-specific, and dynamic.

Once an employer knows, or could reasonably be expected to know, that an employee is disabled, the law imposes a positive duty to remove workplace barriers through reasonable adjustments.

This duty:

• applies whether or not the employee uses the word “disabled”,
• applies even if the disability is newly diagnosed,
• and does not depend on the employer agreeing with the diagnosis.

There is no one-size-fits-all solution. Adjustments that work well at one point may need revisiting later. That is not a failure — it is how the law is designed to operate.

See also: ACAS Guidance on Disability Discrimination, ACAS Guidance on Mental Health at Work, ACAS Guidance on Returning to Work After Absence, Equality Act 2010 section on Reasonable Adjustments, Equality Act 2010 section on employer failure to comply, ACAS Guidance on Sick Leave, UK Gov Guide to Taking Sick Leave

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For staff

For line managers

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If you have (or may have) a disability: what to do next

Occupational Health and Health & Wellbeing referrals

Many staff hesitate to engage with Occupational Health because they worry that:

• information will be shared widely,
• referrals are “management tools”,
• or that asking for help will be used against them.

It’s important to be clear about how OH works.

Occupational Health practitioners are external medical professionals. Their role is not disciplinary or managerial. Their purpose is to:

• assess how health interacts with work,
• advise on adjustments and support,
• and help enable safe, sustainable working.

At Bournemouth University, referrals are coordinated through the Health & Wellbeing team (login required).

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For staff

For line managers

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Reasonable adjustments: responsibilities and realities

One persistent myth deserves to be addressed clearly.

You may have been told that reasonable adjustments are “advisory”. This is misleading.

Under the Equality Act 2010, reasonable adjustments are a legal duty.

Occupational Health recommendations are not legally binding instructions — but they are strong evidence of what adjustments may be reasonable. If an employer chooses not to implement them, the employer must be able to justify why.

The law does not require a disabled person to:

• chase repeatedly for adjustments,
• persuade others of their necessity,
• or absorb the impact of delay.

Once a potential adjustment has been identified, the burden shifts to the employer to show why it would not be reasonable to implement it.

Delay, inaction, or silence does not discharge that duty, and could constitute discrimination.

See also: ACAS Guidance on Reasonable Adjustments

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For staff

For line managers

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Sick leave and returning to work

Sick leave and disability

Sick leave related to disability — particularly where work has caused or contributed to ill health — requires care. ACAS guidance is clear that employers should:

• prioritise support,
• consider adjustments before formal action,
• and avoid pressuring staff to return before it is medically appropriate.

A phased return is a support mechanism, not a test of commitment.

See also: UK Gov Guide to Taking Sick Leave

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Phased return to work

There is no legal or ACAS-mandated maximum length for a phased return.

ACAS guidance states that phased returns:

• should be flexible,
• should be tailored to the individual,
• and should be reviewed and adapted if needed.

Where recovery is complex — for example following mental health injury or workplace trauma — longer or non-linear phased returns may be entirely reasonable.

See also: ACAS Guidance on Returning to Work After Absence

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For staff

For line managers

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Final thoughts

Disability at work is not an edge case. It is a normal part of any workforce, especially in complex, high-pressure environments like universities.

Clear understanding of the legal framework helps everyone:

• staff feel safer asking for support,
• line managers feel more confident doing the right thing,
• and institutions avoid harm caused by delay, misunderstanding, or misplaced rigidity.

Support, flexibility, and good faith are not just good practice. In many cases, they are the law.

Resources for this post: ACAS Guidance on Disability Discrimination, ACAS Guidance on Mental Health at Work, ACAS Guidance on Returning to Work After Absence, Equality Act 2010 section on Reasonable Adjustments, Equality Act 2010 section on employer failure to comply, ACAS Guidance on Sick Leave, UK Gov Guide to Taking Sick Leave