# REQUEST FOR REASONABLE ADJUSTMENTS
## Confidential employment document
Date: 18 October 2027 Employee reference: NWH-EMP-1842 To: Naomi Fletcher, People Director, North Wessex Housing Association, 80 Queen Square, Bristol BS1 4JQ, email naomi.fletcher@example.test From: Daniel Thomas Okafor, Compliance Officer, North Wessex Housing Association, 14 Meadowbank Road, Bristol BS7 9LT, email daniel.okafor@example.test, telephone 0117 555 3912 Line manager: Imogen Price, Head of Compliance, email imogen.price@example.test
I request reasonable adjustments under sections 20 and 21 of the Equality Act 2010 in relation to my dyslexia and chronic migraine. This is a genuine request for an accessible way to perform my existing Compliance Officer role, not a request to remove essential safeguarding, regulatory or performance standards. I ask that the Association handle the information confidentially, share medical details only with people who need them for adjustment, health and safety or legal compliance, and obtain my consent before requesting a medical report unless a lawful exception applies.
## Role and effect
I have worked for the Association since 4 July 2022 and moved into my current role on 1 February 2025. My normal hours are 8.30 am to 5.00 pm, Monday to Friday, with one hour unpaid lunch. My main duties are reviewing housing-compliance files, drafting investigation reports, checking statutory notices, maintaining the case register and attending a Tuesday team meeting. I supervise no staff and my role is not a lone emergency-response role.
Dyslexia is a long-term specific learning difficulty affecting reading speed, spelling retrieval, working-memory load and the accurate processing of dense text, particularly when I must switch rapidly between documents. Chronic migraine has caused recurrent headaches, light sensitivity, nausea and cognitive fatigue since 2021. Bright flickering screens, prolonged unbroken screen work, missed breaks, dehydration, poor sleep and noisy open-plan conditions can increase the risk of an attack. My symptoms fluctuate. Some days I need no adjustment; during a migraine I may need a quiet recovery period or may be unable to work safely.
These conditions have had a substantial adverse effect on ordinary activities including reading long documents, writing under time pressure, concentrating in visually harsh environments and processing several simultaneous verbal instructions. They have lasted, or are expected to last, more than twelve months. I am not asking the Association to accept an unverified diagnosis. The following external attachments are identified but not reproduced in this worked request: Attachment 1 is a functional-impact letter dated 29 September 2027 from Dr Miriam Cole, consultant neurologist at Avon Neurocare, 2 Berkeley Place, Bristol BS8 1HL, reference ANC-7716; it describes chronic migraine symptoms, screen and light triggers, fluctuating cognitive effects and the need for recovery breaks. Attachment 2 is an educational psychologist report dated 11 November 2023 from Dr Yusuf Khan, reference YK-DYS-23091; it describes dyslexia-related reading speed, spelling retrieval, working-memory load and the benefit of accessible text and advance written information. The attachment descriptions are a concise functional summary, not a reproduction or expansion of either report. The reports may be verified through the professionals' published contact routes. I consent to an occupational-health assessment focused on functional effects and adjustments.
## Adjustments requested
I request the following six-month trial from 1 November 2027 to 30 April 2028:
1. Give me agendas, papers, policy drafts and action points at least one working day before meetings where reasonably practicable. Permit me to use text-to-speech, spelling support and a note-taking application on Association equipment. I remain responsible for checking the accuracy and confidentiality of my work.
2. Allow written instructions for material or multi-step tasks, with a short confirmation question when a manager gives a complex verbal instruction. This does not require colleagues to transcribe every conversation. A Teams message or case note stating the task, priority and deadline is sufficient.
3. Permit a screen reader, text-to-speech software, tinted screen filter and enlarged display settings. IT should assess ReadAssist Enterprise licence RA-2027-64, costing £186.00 for the six-month trial, and select an equivalent approved tool if security or compatibility requires it. No personal cloud service should receive confidential housing data.
4. Replace the current hot-desk location beside the printer with a consistent desk in a quieter area, preferably desk C-14 near the west window, with the option to use a low-glare monitor. The desk must remain suitable for confidential calls, and I will use headphones only in accordance with the Association's security policy.
5. Permit a ten-minute screen and hydration break after each 90 minutes of concentrated screen work, and allow a maximum of two such breaks in a normal day unless my manager agrees otherwise. The break is not an unauthorised absence and should be recorded simply as an adjustment break, without recording migraine details on the public team calendar.
6. If a migraine begins, allow me to move to the quiet room for up to 45 minutes, notify Imogen Price by the agreed status message, and then either resume adjusted duties or work from home if the IT security assessment confirms that remote access is safe. If symptoms make work unsafe, I will follow the sickness procedure. I will not drive or attend a site visit while visual or cognitive symptoms impair safe travel.
These requests preserve essential duties. I will continue to meet statutory deadlines, attend required training, protect tenants' confidential information, make accurate compliance records and tell my manager promptly if an adjustment is not working. I am not requesting an exemption from quality control. I ask that documents I draft continue to receive ordinary peer review, with that review focused on the work rather than assumptions about disability.
## Alternatives and consultation
If desk C-14 is unavailable, acceptable alternatives are desk B-07 with a low-glare monitor, a bookable quiet room for concentrated drafting, or a secure home-working block of no more than two days each week. If ReadAssist is not approved, the Association could provide built-in operating-system text-to-speech, an approved proofreading tool, additional time for dense-file reviews, or a colleague's accessible summary before I read the source file. If fixed breaks disrupt a statutory deadline, an equivalent flexible break may be agreed on that day.
I am willing to attend an occupational-health appointment, demonstrate the software to IT, take part in a workstation assessment and discuss a phased implementation. I ask the Association to identify the responsible decision-maker, any information still required, the estimated cost of each option and whether the Access to Work scheme or another funding route may assist. The Association should not reject the request solely because one preferred option is inconvenient without considering an effective alternative.
## Evidence and confidentiality
The identified external attachments are not reproduced here. The functional summaries in the Role and effect section explain the impact for this request; they are not a reproduction of the reports, a substitute for clinical assessment or authority to disclose my full medical history. If copies of the identified attachments are later provided, please store them in the restricted occupational-health or HR record, separate from ordinary personnel files where practicable. My GP is Dr Hannah Morgan, Redland Health Centre, 22 Zetland Road, Bristol BS6 7AH, email hannah.morgan@example.test. Please contact Dr Morgan only if occupational health confirms that a further report is necessary and I have given the required consent.
I ask for an acknowledgement within 5 working days, by Monday 25 October 2027, a meeting within 7 working days, by Wednesday 27 October 2027, and a written decision with reasons within 9 working days, by Friday 29 October 2027, so that an agreed trial can begin on 1 November 2027. These are working-day administrative targets calculated from the next working day after 18 October 2027; they are requested deadlines, not a waiver of any statutory right or a claim that a decision is automatically unlawful if a different timetable is reasonably explained. If the Association is closed on a listed date, it should respond on the next working day and explain the change. Pending a decision, I ask that the Association allow the existing informal measures of written agendas, a low-glare monitor and a quiet break where operationally possible.
## Review and next steps
The review meeting should occur on the working day Monday 17 January 2028, and the final review should occur on the working day Friday 28 April 2028. If the Association is closed on either date, the review will take place on the next working day after written notice of the replacement date. We should assess migraine frequency, time lost to symptoms, report accuracy, delivery of statutory work, software accessibility, colleague impact, cost and my own experience. The parties may amend an adjustment by a dated written note. No amendment should remove an effective adjustment without consultation and consideration of the Equality Act duty.
If a requested adjustment is not accepted, please state which adjustment was considered, the evidence relied upon, the operational reason, any alternative offered, the review date and the internal appeal or grievance route. I reserve all rights under the Equality Act 2010, employment contract and applicable workplace policies, while intending to resolve the practical issue constructively. This letter is a formal request and should not be treated as a complaint about any individual unless I later say so.
Signed by Daniel Thomas Okafor on 18 October 2027:
Signature: ______________________________
Witness signature: ______________________________
Witness name: Louise Ann Mercer
Witness address: 26 Cotham Park, Bristol BS6 6DA
Witness occupation: Solicitor
Acknowledged for receipt only by Naomi Fletcher, People Director:
Signature: ______________________________
Date received: 18 October 2027
Receipt does not mean that the Association has accepted every adjustment. A decision will be made after consultation and consideration of the available evidence and alternatives.