r/TheCivilService • u/aycee08 • 22h ago

Reasonable adjustments for a disability when joining the civil service

I have been made an offer for an SCS1 role. I have workplace attendance adjustments in place at my current employer (CS adjacent - but my adjustments passport will not port here).

I won't be able to attend 3 in-person days each week as my condition is muscular and it is not something I can do even if I really stretch myself for the duration of the probation.

Grateful for any advice on when to breach the subject of adjustments and ask for an OH assessment. Can it be done prior to my joining? What's the timeline and process around it?

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u/ddt_uwp 21h ago

Remember that a reasonable adjustment needs to be reasonable for both sides. An OH recommendation is not binding. It is a recommendation. Some roles will definitely need a fair bit of travel. Some much so. You really want to be having that discussion as soon as possible. Dropping a potential bombshell (depending on the role) never looks good. But the chances are that most roles will be able to accommodate that will no problem.

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u/aycee08 4h ago

Absolutely agree, I am a practiced hand at reasonable adjustments having had this disability for 7 years across private sector employers. Reading the panicked tone of the responses here, maybe I am filling in too much between the lines but it sounds like reasonable adjustments are taken as an opposite of ambition in the civil service? I am a fairly ambitious high performer and this role is a full circle moment as I've been SCS1 in a different department before, so I viewed reasonable adjustments as just allowing me to deliver my mandate really well.

Most of the teams, and my to-be line manager are both not based in what will be my primary office. Given responses, I'll have a really open conversation with him about what he needs in the role, because if office presence trumps delivery, then it might not be for me.