Why you shouldn’t ask for proof from your disabled employees

What do you need from your disabled employees to be able to organise reasonable adjustments?

For many employers, the list of requirements will include some kind of medical evidence - diagnostic reports, GP letters, or reports from specialists. At first glance, this might seem like a sensible policy, allowing you to prioritise support for those who need it and preventing other employees from taking advantage of the system. But have you ever stopped to think about the implications of this requirement?

Firstly, there will be many individuals who are disabled and require support and adjustments, but can’t provide ‘proof’ because they don’t have a formal diagnosis. There’s a common perception that you just have to walk into a GP appointment and explain the issue before walking out with a diagnosis. 

For most disabled people, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Whether it’s chronic illness, neurodivergence, or any other condition, it’s usually a cycle of endless appointments and referrals that can last years or even decades before receiving an actual correct diagnosis. Are these people magically more in need of support the day after they receive their diagnosis than the day before? Of course not. 

While you might suggest that a GP letter explaining the impact of an as-yet undiagnosed condition would be an acceptable solution, this comes with its own problems; it can be difficult to find doctors that will listen to and believe patients presenting with unusual, complex or invisible symptoms.

Even for employees who would in theory be able to provide the paperwork, this kind of requirement can be a significant obstacle to accessing support. People won’t necessarily have the right kinds of paperwork on hand, and it can be almost impossible to get a GP appointment, especially for issues deemed non-urgent. This process of gathering evidence potentially pushes a significant administrative burden onto your employees. It’s also arguably a waste of medical resources when health services are already overstretched. 

It’s clear that there are numerous practical issues which can prevent employees from providing medical evidence to access support. There are also ethical considerations. It’s unreasonable to expect your employees to disclose detailed and potentially highly sensitive personal health information. However supportive the employer, and however confidential the disclosure process, this can be an intensely uncomfortable experience that can feel like an invasion of privacy. You probably wouldn’t want to share your medical records with anyone other than your doctor, and there’s no need to make your employees do that either. 

At this point, it’s time to examine one of the most common objections to making the change to remove evidence requirements. Won’t other employees take advantage of the process? After all, if there’s no requirement to prove their disability, there’s nothing to stop non-disabled employees from asking for adjustments too.

This is undoubtedly true, but it’s worth stopping to consider one thing - why does that matter? 

You will already be aware that, under the Equality Act 2010, you are legally required to support disabled employees, making all reasonable adjustments to remove any disadvantage encountered in your workplace. There are of course no such requirements for employees that do not meet the criteria for disability. 

However, that’s not to say that they won’t encounter particular elements of workplace practices or features that hinder their ability to perform to the best of their ability. If there are adjustments that you can easily make that remove these barriers, it makes perfect sense to do so even in the absence of a legal requirement. 

Most adjustments are cheap or completely free to implement, and for this minimal cost, you’ll have happier, more motivated employees who are supported to work better. And even if you don’t buy into the idea that everyone (disabled or not) can benefit from flexibility, it’s worth remembering that it’s surely far better to support a small number of people who you’re not obliged to than to leave a considerably higher number of disabled people without support. 

Not only that, but it will save you admin time and costs. In larger companies, it’s inevitable that a considerable amount of employee time will be spent chasing evidence and processing adjustment requests. In smaller businesses, it’s more likely to be you or other senior staff members wasting time that could be far better spent elsewhere. Reducing the complexity of the process could be a great way of saving time and money!

Removing any evidence requirements for employees to be able to request adjustments and support makes perfect sense. You’ll remove barriers to accessing support for disabled employees, build a more flexible workplace that works better for everyone, and save on admin time and costs - benefiting your employees and your business.

Not sure what this looks like in practice? We’re here to help! Discover SIC Consulting here.