The first move
Ask in writing and frame it as a reasonable adjustment under the Equality Act 2010, not a flexible-working request. Explain how the office disadvantages you, and your employer must consider it (2026). The framing is the whole point: a request labelled “reasonable adjustment” engages a legal duty, while a generic flexible-working request does not. So say it plainly in your email — something like, “I’m asking for home working as a reasonable adjustment for my disability under the Equality Act 2010.” You do not have to use the word “disabled” for the duty to apply, but naming it makes it much harder to brush the request aside Acas.
Explain the disadvantage
The second step is to show why the office is the problem and home working removes it. The duty bites when a workplace rule — here, the requirement to be in the office — puts a disabled person at a substantial disadvantage compared with colleagues who are not disabled (Equality Act 2010, s.20). So spell out the link: the open-plan noise, the commute, the sensory load, the fatigue — whatever the office demands that your impairment makes far harder. You meet the legal definition of disability if you have a physical or mental impairment with a substantial, long-term effect on everyday activities; you do not need a formal diagnosis to qualify Scope.
This route is stronger than the statutory flexible-working one, and it is worth knowing why before you choose your words.
| Reasonable adjustment | Flexible-working request | |
|---|---|---|
| Legal basis | Equality Act 2010 duty | Statutory right to request |
| Can be refused on | Only that the change is not reasonable | One of eight set business grounds |
| A wrongful refusal is | Unlawful discrimination (s.21) | A procedural breach only |
| Who it covers | Disabled employees | Any employee, from day one |
| Who pays | The employer | Not applicable |
One honest caveat: there is no automatic right to work from home. The duty is to remove the disadvantage, and home working is only one way to do that. Your employer can lawfully offer a different adjustment instead — a quieter desk, changed hours, a phased return — as long as it genuinely removes the disadvantage. What they cannot do is treat the request as a discretionary perk and refuse it on convenience grounds Acas.
If they say no
If the request is refused with no reasonable alternative offered, you have an escalation route:
- Raise it in writing first — ask for the reason in writing and for an alternative adjustment to be considered.
- Put in a formal grievance if that gets nowhere.
- Start Acas early conciliation, then an employment tribunal claim — the deadline is three months less one day from the refusal, so do not let it slide Equality Act 2010, s.21.
Where the law comes from
Related
This page is general information, not clinical or legal advice.