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NLJ this week: When a trial period becomes a ‘reasonable adjustment’

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21 November 2025
Issue: 8140 / Categories: Legal News , Employment , Equality , Discrimination , Disciplinary&grievance procedures
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The Employment Appeal Tribunal has now confirmed that offering a disabled employee a trial period in an alternative role can itself be a 'reasonable adjustment' under the Equality Act 2010: in this week's NLJ, Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve analyses the evolving case law

Pigott traces the legal journey from early uncertainty—when trial periods were seen as mere procedures—to Miller, which recognised them as substantive adjustments capable of preventing dismissal. Chowdhury refined the principle, emphasising that a trial must still be reasonable and relevant to the employee’s abilities.

Pigott concludes that tribunals will weigh the overlap between roles, but employers who ignore trial-period options do so at their peril.

Issue: 8140 / Categories: Legal News , Employment , Equality , Discrimination , Disciplinary&grievance procedures
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