The employment landscape is changing.
A series of new employment rights are being introduced during 2026, with further changes taking effect from 30 October. Earlier this month the time limit for bringing many Employment Tribunal claims also increased from three months to six months.
These wider changes do not replace the existing duty around disability.
Employers are still required to consider reasonable adjustments where a disabled worker or somebody with a relevant health condition would otherwise experience a substantial disadvantage.
But knowing that adjustments may be required is the easy part.
Working out what those adjustments should actually look like can be much more difficult.
Diagnosis does not tell you whether somebody can do their job
Two people can have exactly the same medical diagnosis and experience completely different occupational difficulties.
One person with arthritis may struggle primarily with prolonged typing.
Another may struggle with walking between sites.
Another may perform most aspects of their job well but experience significant fatigue after repeated manual tasks.
This is why occupational therapy looks beyond the diagnostic label.
The important questions are:
What does the job require?
What can the employee currently do?
Which tasks are difficult?
What makes those tasks difficult?
Does performance change during the day?
What happens after several consecutive working days?
What environmental factors are contributing?
Could the task, equipment, hours or environment be changed?
A restriction is not the same as a solution
An occupational health report that simply says:
“No heavy lifting.”
“Regular breaks required.”
“Reduced hours.”
may identify a problem but still leave the employer wondering what to do next.
Occupational therapy can take the analysis further.
What constitutes heavy lifting within this particular job?
How frequently does the task occur?
Could equipment remove the need for manual lifting?
Could the task be redistributed?
Would altering the workstation reduce symptoms?
Would changing the order of duties improve fatigue management?
Could a phased return gradually expose the employee to increasing demands rather than simply reducing their hours?
Government guidance specifically recognises adjustments such as changes to equipment, physical changes to the workplace, altered working arrangements and phased returns.
The key is determining what is reasonable and functional for both the employee and the workplace.
The job itself needs assessing
This is where occupational therapy can add considerable value.
Sometimes the problem is not the employee.
It is the mismatch between their abilities and the way the job has been designed.
A workstation may be poorly configured.
A role may involve unnecessary duplication.
Essential equipment may be in the wrong location.
A worker may be completing physically demanding duties repeatedly because tasks have historically been distributed that way.
An employee returning following injury may have the ability to work but not yet tolerate the intensity of their previous routine.
Understanding the actual occupation helps identify practical solutions.
Graded return should have a purpose
A phased return is not simply working fewer hours for a few weeks.
It should ideally have clear goals.
Hours may increase.
Task complexity may increase.
Physical demands may gradually increase.
Breaks may reduce.
Confidence may improve.
Symptoms should be monitored.
The employee and employer then have something measurable against which progress can be reviewed.
Without that structure, phased returns can drift, with nobody entirely certain whether the employee is improving or whether the adjustments remain appropriate.
How OT4Life can help
OT4Life provides independent occupational health and vocational rehabilitation assessments.
We can assess the employee, analyse their work tasks and environment and provide practical recommendations regarding reasonable adjustments, equipment, workplace setup, fatigue management, task modification and graded return to work.
Where appropriate, we can also liaise with employers and review progress as the employee returns to their normal occupational role.
Because helping somebody remain in work is rarely about producing a list of things they cannot do.
The real question is:
What would enable them to do it?
Source information: Current Government guidance confirms the continuing employer duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled workers and provides examples including equipment, workplace changes, flexible working arrangements and phased returns.