Most people spend a large part of their lives at work, so when a disability or long-term health condition starts to affect how you are treated there, it can quickly take a toll. Sometimes the unfairness is obvious. More often it builds up gradually, through comments, decisions, and a growing sense that your condition is being held against you. Wherever you are on that spectrum, it is worth understanding your rights when it comes to disability discrimination in the workplace, because the law is on your side.
At Paul Doran Law, we specialise in employment law and we only act for employees. Our team has more than 30 years’ combined experience helping people across the United Kingdom challenge unfair treatment at work, and we have recovered substantial compensation for clients against employers of every size.
What is disability discrimination in the workplace?
Discrimination in the workplace is not always a single dramatic event. It often appears in the ordinary decisions and interactions that make up working life. It might be a promotion that never quite materialises after you disclose a condition, a rota that ignores medical appointments you have asked to work around, or a manager who treats disability-related absence as though it were poor commitment. It can be the equipment request that is quietly never actioned, or the ‘banter’ about your condition that no one steps in to stop. Each of these can amount to disability discrimination in the workplace.
Recruitment and starting a job
Disability discrimination in the workplace can happen before you have even been hired. An employer should not turn you down because of a disability, and there are strict limits on the health questions an employer can ask before making a job offer. Once you start, the duty to treat you fairly, and to consider reasonable adjustments, applies from day one, including during probation. You do not need any minimum length of service to be protected against disability discrimination.
Reasonable adjustments
A central part of workplace protection is the duty on employers to make reasonable adjustments. This means taking sensible steps to remove disadvantages you face because of your disability, such as adjusting your duties, allowing flexible or reduced hours, changing a policy, providing equipment, or altering how a task is carried out.
What is reasonable depends on the circumstances, including the size and resources of the employer. Where an employer has ignored a workable adjustment, or penalised you for something an adjustment would have prevented, that is often a strong sign that something has gone wrong.
Absence, capability, and performance
Some of the most difficult situations arise around sickness absence and performance. If your absence or a dip in your output is connected to your disability, an employer cannot simply treat it like any other conduct or capability issue. Applying a blanket attendance policy, or moving to warnings and dismissal without properly considering your disability and possible adjustments, can be unlawful.
Harassment and being treated badly for speaking up
You are entitled to a working environment free from harassment connected to your disability, whether that is direct hostility or a pattern of unwanted comments that makes work humiliating or intimidating. You are also protected from victimisation, which means being treated badly because you complained about discrimination, or supported someone else who did. Raising a concern is your right, and an employer who punishes you for it is likely to be breaking the law.
Does the same disability discrimination in the workplace law apply everywhere in the UK?
Not quite, and the difference matters. In England, Scotland and Wales, workplace disability discrimination is governed by the Equality Act 2010. Northern Ireland has its own framework under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, which is narrower in some respects. For example, it does not include indirect disability discrimination or ‘discrimination arising from disability‘, so claims there usually centre on direct discrimination, failure to make reasonable adjustments, harassment, and victimisation. At Paul Doran Law, we handle claims across the whole country and can advise you on the law that applies to you.
What you can do about disability discrimination in the workplace?
If something at work does not feel right, you do not have to suffer in silence. Often, the first step is raising it internally, whether informally or through a formal grievance, and we can help you do that in a way that protects your position. If the problem cannot be resolved, you may be able to negotiate a settlement or bring a claim. Time limits are short. Different deadlines and rules apply depending on where you work and whether the event occurred on or after 1 October 2026. Ask us for more details by making a free enquiry.
How can we help?
You are entitled to be treated fairly at work regardless of disability. If you believe you have been discriminated against, we can help you understand your position, hold your employer to account, and recover the compensation you deserve.
We offer a free initial enquiry call in which we will find out some details about your case and inform you of your options before you decide whether to proceed. Wherever you are in the United Kingdom, our team will guide you through each stage.
To speak to us in confidence, call 0808 168 7288 or get in touch here.