When Reasonable Adjustments Are Missed
Requesting access should not mean having to chase it afterwards.
I’ve noticed how often reasonable adjustment requests are made clearly on job application forms, only to be missed later in the recruitment process.
Almost every job application form asks whether adjustments are needed.
For many Deaf applicants, that section matters.
It is where we explain what we need so the interview can be fair, accessible, and equitable.
A BSL interpreter.
Extra time.
Accessible communication.
Clear information in advance.
But too often, the request is made clearly and then nothing happens.
An interview is offered without the adjustment in place.
The applicant has to chase.
Re-explain.
Remind.
Wait.
Hope it gets sorted in time.
That is not inclusion.
That is extra labour placed on the person who already did what the form asked them to do.
It makes me wonder:
Are adjustment requests actually being read?
Are they being recorded?
Are they being passed to the right person?
Or are they read once, then forgotten?
Recently, I received a simple automated email after selecting “yes” for adjustments.
It impressed me because it showed the request had been noticed, logged, and acted on without me needing to chase.
And in all my job searches, only one organisation truly got this right.
I asked for a BSL interpreter.
The interpreter was already booked.
No chasing.
No repeating.
Just done.
They heard me the first time.
And they acted.
Noticing the request is only the first step.
Following through is what makes the process accessible.
Reasonable adjustments should not disappear between the application form and the interview.
Access is not created by asking the question.
It is created by acting on the answer.
