Reasonable Adjustments: A Manager’s Guide - July 2026

2. What Does the Term “Disability” Mean and Who is Included?

The term “disability” applies to a range of people with different impairments. It is not just visible physical conditions that are included, conditions such as anxiety[ALC2.1] or depression are also included in the definition.

As a manager you also need to be aware that under the law the term disability is so broad that people you might not think of as disabled are included, for example, people with diabetes, asthma, back problems, facial disfigurements and mental health conditions such obsessive-compulsive disorder[ALC3.1].

Managing an employee with mental ill health is the same as managing an employee with a physical illness. Your duty as a manager would be to try and put adjustments in place to help them through their ill health and stay in work/or return to work.

Employees diagnosed with cancer, Multiple sclerosis (MS) and HIV are automatically included from the point of diagnosis[ALC4.1]. Alcoholism/ substance addiction are not included in the definition although it may subsequently impact on physical and mental health and that may mean that an employee is defined as disabled. It is not possible to provide a comprehensive list of all the impairments that might lead a person considering themselves to be disabled. This is because the legal definition is broad and not always easy to apply.