Reasonable Adjustments: workplace resources now available

Launched back in February, our reasonable adjustments campaign 'Let’s Talk Adjustments' has now drawn to a close, having created a wealth of accessible resources for veterinary professionals to help them have important conversations around reasonable adjustments in the workplace.

The campaign was set up in light of findings from the joint RCVS and British Veterinary Chronic Illness Support (BCVIS) Disability and Chronic Illness in Veterinary Work and Education Survey carried out by the Institute of Employment Studies (IES), published in July 2024. Findings indicated that there was a need to increase awareness about reasonable adjustments, promote wider discourse, and equip individuals and organisations with the knowledge to ensure they were effectively implemented in the working environment.

Over the course of the campaign, resources produced include:

• Real stories and insights - inspiring stories from vets and vet nurses who have navigated health challenges in the workplace, alongside manager insights.
• Let’s Talk Adjustments webinar - explores reasonable adjustments in veterinary workplaces including campaign themes and insights, key implications and good practice.
• Disability inclusion information – information on disability inclusion, its benefits and why it’s important.
• Equality Act guidance – summary of the legislation and employer’s obligations.
• Reasonable adjustments: a legal duty – information on reasonable adjustments, including a comprehensive resource list.
• Understanding occupational therapy in the workplace – occupational therapy tips to boost workplace wellbeing, occupational therapy guidance on fatigue self-management, achieving occupational balance.
• A guide to discussing reasonable adjustments at work - a short guide considering adjustments to the workplace or working arrangements to enable disabled people to work well and have fulfilling careers. The aim of the guide is to support effective discussion of work adjustments between line managers and those affected by physical and psychological conditions.

Alongside this campaign, in June, our Education and Veterinary Nursing teams published new best practice guidance on reasonable adjustments for student veterinary surgeons and student veterinary nurses, to support educational establishments in making appropriate reasonable adjustments decisions.

RCVS Leadership and Inclusion Manager, Gurpreet Gill, said: “The aim of our ‘Let’s Talk Adjustments’ campaign was to promote disability inclusion and encourage conversations around reasonable adjustments across all roles, disabilities and health conditions in veterinary workplaces.

“It has been truly amazing to have had so many fantastic individuals come forward and willingly give up their time to support our campaign and we hope that its impact will be far reaching and long-lasting.

"It has been truly amazing to have had so many fantastic individuals come forward and willingly give up their time to support our campaign and we hope that its impact will be far reaching and long-lasting."

“The campaign may have come to an end, but the resources we have created will remain on our website as a source of vital information to allow conversations around reasonable adjustments to continue to evolve and progress.”

For more information and to access the ‘Let’s Talk Adjustments’ resources, visit the dedicated 'Let's Talk Adjustments' campaign page.