Select committee: Work and Pensions Committee
Recommendation 2
7th Report - Employment support for disabled people: Disability at Work
Published 21 May 2026
Addressed to Department for Work and Pensions
Work and Pensions Committee Employment support for disabled people All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
To improve disabled people’s experiences of requesting reasonable adjustments, the government should strengthen the Equality Act 2010 by requiring employers to respond to requests for such adjustments in writing within two weeks. It should also provide in legislation that any written refusal must include the following: • the employer’s assessment of whether the person meets the legal definition of disabled; • the employer’s assessment of whether the person, if they consider them to be a disabled person, is at a substantial disadvantage; • the employer’s reasons, if they consider the disabled person to be at a substantial disadvantage, for concluding that the request is not reasonable; and • what advice or guidance they sought in coming to their conclusions. (Recommendation, Paragraph 33)
From: Work and Pensions Committee, 7th Report - Employment support for disabled people: Disability at Work (HC 1227), 21 May 2026
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 10 September 2026 (deadline 21 July 2026).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government accepts some recommendations in full and others in part, saying that problems with reasonable adjustments reflect "a gap in understanding" rather than a gap in the law.
- On written responses to adjustment requests and information for all new employees, it does "not currently intend" to legislate for the information requirement, saying the issue is "best addressed by improving understanding of the current duties".
- It accepts the recommendation on assistive technology: the Disability Unit will launch a call for evidence "later this year" and then set out plans, including considering what form a potential centre might take.
- It accepts the recommendation on Workplace Health Provision, stating "It is our intention to set out the nature of Workplace Health Provision (WHP) by the end of the year".
- It accepts the recommendation on mandatory disability pay gap reporting, with legislation to be introduced "as soon as parliamentary time allows".