Reasonable Adjustments for Anxiety and Depression at Work
Mental health conditions can be disabilities under the Equality Act. If yours is, your employer has a legal duty to adjust.
← Back to Blog · Employment · Published 8 September 2026 · Directed and published by Matt Thompson, founder of UK Work Rights
This is free rights guidance, not legal advice. Every statutory figure here is checked against a primary source — see our Editorial & Verification Policy.
Anxiety and depression can be disabilities in law
People often assume "disability" means something visible or permanent. The Equality Act 2010 test is broader than that. A condition counts if it is a physical or mental impairment with a substantial and long-term adverse effect on your ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.
"Substantial" means more than minor or trivial. "Long-term" generally means it has lasted, or is likely to last, at least 12 months. Anxiety and depression frequently meet this test. Importantly, a condition that fluctuates or is controlled by medication can still qualify — the question is what the effect would be without treatment.
You do not need a formal diagnosis label, and you do not need to have been off work, though medical evidence makes a claim considerably easier to establish.
The duty to make reasonable adjustments
If your condition is a disability, your employer has a positive legal duty to make reasonable adjustments where a provision, criterion or practice puts you at a substantial disadvantage. This is not a courtesy. It is an obligation, and failing it is a form of discrimination.
Crucially, the duty is triggered when the employer knows, or ought reasonably to know, about the disability. That means you are in a much stronger position if you have told them — which is why putting it in writing matters so much.
What adjustments actually look like
- Changes to hours — a later start, reduced hours, a phased return after absence.
- Changes to workload — reallocating specific duties, adjusting targets or deadlines.
- Changes to environment — a quieter space, working from home, fewer open-plan hours.
- Changes to management — written instructions rather than verbal, more regular structured check-ins, a different reporting line.
- Time off for appointments — therapy or medical appointments treated flexibly.
- Adjustments to procedures — for example, modifying how absence triggers or performance processes apply to you.
That last one matters more than people realise. Applying a standard absence trigger rigidly to a disabled employee, without adjustment, is a common way employers get this wrong.
"Reasonable" is a real limit — but a tested one
An employer does not have to do everything you ask. What is reasonable takes account of cost, practicality, the size and resources of the organisation and how effective the adjustment would be. A large employer will be expected to do more than a very small one.
But refusing outright without considering anything, or refusing without explanation, is very difficult for an employer to defend. The expectation is that they engage with the request properly.
How to ask — and why it should be in writing
Put the request in writing. Say clearly that you have a health condition, describe the effect it has on specific parts of your work, and set out the adjustments you are asking for. You do not need to disclose every clinical detail, but you do need to give enough for them to understand the disadvantage.
Ask for an occupational health referral if one has not been offered. It creates an independent record and often produces recommendations the employer finds harder to dismiss.
Keep copies of everything. If this ends up in a tribunal, the paper trail showing what you asked for and when is usually the strongest evidence you will have.
Time limits
Discrimination claims have the same tight deadlines: currently 3 months less 1 day, becoming 6 months less 1 day for acts falling on or after 1 October 2026. Where there is a series of acts, the date of the last one decides.
Unlike ordinary unfair dismissal, discrimination protection applies from day one — there is no qualifying period. ACAS Early Conciliation is mandatory first and can run up to 12 weeks. Confirm your deadline on 0300 123 1100.
If you are struggling right now
This article is about your rights at work, but if things are difficult, please do not sit with it alone. Your GP is a good starting point. Mind's information line is 0300 102 1234, and Samaritans are available free, day or night, on 116 123.
Check your own situation free
Every situation turns on its own facts. These free tools use the same verified figures as this article: