A new conversation guide from JobAccess will help employees with disability and their employers have more productive discussions about adjustments to their workplace.   

‘Making Workplace Adjustments Easy, Effective and Equitable’ describes the good practice considerations for both employers and employees. It covers when it is appropriate to discuss an employee’s disability in the workplace, how to open the conversation, what to consider before having it and how to follow up. It also includes sample conversations that will give employers and employees an idea of the right tone and sort of topics to cover.  

The guide is a response to a national survey by JobAccess that revealed that 60 per cent of Australians don’t know about adjustments and their benefits in the workplace. A majority also believe that making changes to better accommodate a worker with disability can be difficult, time-consuming or costly.  

The guide shows that this is rarely the case and workplace adjustments can be made easier by honest initial conversations, whether at the job interview or after the employee starts work. 

Either party can share the guide with the other to clarify the process and ease the anxiety that can come with such conversations. 

The guide is available for free download from the JobAccess webite.