Ask in writing before the test: email the recruiter or HR requesting extra time as a reasonable adjustment for your disability. Under UK law (2026) you need no formal diagnosis, and it must be free to you. Send it as soon as you know a timed test or assessment is coming – not after a result – so the adjustment is in place before the clock starts.
Send the request in writing, before the test
A short email beats a phone call, because it leaves a record. Address it to whoever is running the recruitment – the recruiter, the hiring manager, or HR – and say plainly that you are asking for a reasonable adjustment for a disability. A request that names a concrete change is far easier to grant than a vague "could I have a bit longer". The most grantable format is a percentage uplift on the time limit:
- Name the barrier: "The fixed time limit on the timed section puts me at a substantial disadvantage because of my disability."
- Name the change: "I'm asking for extra time on the timed sections – for example 25% more time – as a reasonable adjustment under the Equality Act 2010."
That percentage is how many employers already think about it. The Civil Service candidate guide, for instance, lets a recruiter offer an increase of 25%, 50%, 75% or 100% on the time for a timed section, depending on what you need. Those bands are one employer's offer, not a fixed national entitlement – but quoting a percentage gives any employer a clear thing to say yes to.
You do not need a diagnosis, and you do not pay
Two things the top results bury. First, a formal diagnosis is not required. The legal duty is triggered by being a disabled person in law – having a physical or mental impairment with a substantial, long-term effect on everyday activities – not by holding a diagnostic certificate. The GOV.UK guidance says outright that documentation may be requested but is not mandatory, and that not being able to provide it should not deter you from asking. Offer any evidence you have; do not wait to get some.
Second, the adjustment must be free to you. The Equality Act says a disabled person cannot be made to pay, to any extent, for a reasonable adjustment. Extra time on a test costs the employer nothing to grant, so cost is never a fair reason to refuse it.
The duty applies to you as a job applicant
You do not have to be on the payroll already. The reasonable-adjustments duty covers applicants as well as existing staff: it reaches the arrangements an employer makes for deciding who gets the job, which includes recruitment tests and assessments. So an external candidate sitting a screening test has the same right to ask as an employee being assessed for a promotion.
If you are refused or ignored
If the request is turned down or goes unanswered, reply in writing and name the duty: a fixed time limit is the textbook provision, criterion or practice that the law says an employer must adjust where it puts a disabled person at a substantial disadvantage. An unjustified refusal can itself be disability discrimination – something the employer may have to defend at an employment tribunal. For free, impartial advice on wording and next steps, contact Acas.
Where the law comes from
Related
This page is general information, not clinical or legal advice.