NHS Careers

Reasonable Adjustments at NHS Job Interviews

FP FrontlinePay Editorial

Updated September 2026

Independent guidance — not affiliated with NHS England or DHSC

ℹThis guide is about recruitment, not adjustments once you're already employed

Our disability and reasonable adjustments at work guide covers the full Equality Act 2010 framework for adjustments once you're already in post — shift patterns, equipment, workspace changes, and occupational health's role. This page covers something narrower and genuinely distinct: your rights and options at the recruitment stage, before you've got the job, where the legal duty, the practicalities, and the disclosure decision all look meaningfully different.

Short answer

Employers — including NHS trusts — have a legal duty under the Equality Act 2010 to make reasonable adjustments for disabled job applicants at every stage of recruitment, not only once someone is employed. In practice, this most commonly means things like extra time for a written test or exercise, interview questions provided in advance in writing, an alternative format for application materials, or a specific room or format adjustment for the interview itself. You don't need to disclose your full diagnosis to request one — describing the specific adjustment you need is usually enough — and there's no single "correct" point at which to raise it, though earlier generally gives the recruiting team more time to arrange it properly. This guide covers what you can ask for, when and how to raise it, and what to do if a request doesn't go the way you'd hoped.

How this differs from adjustments once you're already in post

It's worth being clear about this distinction upfront, because the two situations are governed by the same underlying law but look quite different in practice. Adjustments once you're employed are about your actual working conditions — your shift pattern, your equipment, your physical workspace — and typically involve your line manager, HR, and often an occupational health referral, built around an ongoing working relationship. Adjustments during recruitment are about a single process with a fixed timeline — an application, a test, an interview — arranged directly with whoever is running that specific vacancy's recruitment, usually the named contact on your interview invitation or the trust's HR/recruitment team. If you're looking for guidance on in-post adjustments, our disability and reasonable adjustments at work guide covers that ground; this page is specifically about getting through the door.

The legal duty at recruitment stage specifically

Under the Equality Act 2010, the duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people applies at every stage of the employment relationship, including recruitment — it isn't a duty that only switches on once someone has a start date. This means an employer must consider adjustments to the application process, to any assessment or test, and to the interview itself, wherever a disabled candidate would otherwise be at a substantial disadvantage compared with a non-disabled candidate going through the same process.

The Act also places specific limits on what an employer can ask about health or disability during recruitment. In general, employers must not ask job applicants about their health or any disability before making a job offer, except in limited circumstances — including specifically to establish whether an applicant will need reasonable adjustments for an assessment or interview, or to positively encourage disabled applicants to apply. In other words, the law is deliberately structured so that a conversation about adjustments can happen without opening the door to broader health-related questions that could otherwise influence a hiring decision unfairly.

⚠This is general information, not legal advice

This page explains the general legal framework as honestly as we can, based on the Equality Act 2010 and published ACAS and gov.uk guidance. It isn't a substitute for advice on your own specific situation — if you believe a request has been mishandled, or you're unsure how the law applies to your circumstances, ACAS, the Equality and Human Rights Commission, or an employment law adviser are better placed to advise on the specifics than a general guide like this one.

What you can actually ask for

There's no single fixed national list of NHS interview adjustments, because what's needed genuinely depends on the individual and the specific recruitment process — but certain requests come up repeatedly and are generally well understood by NHS recruitment teams:

• Extra time to complete a written test, exercise, or presentation task
• Interview questions provided in advance, in writing — some trusts provide the exact questions, others provide themes or categories rather than precise wording
• A break during a longer interview or assessment centre, if concentration or fatigue is a factor
• An alternative format for application materials — larger text, a different file format, or a version compatible with screen-reading software
• A specific room setup — quieter surroundings, particular seating, or avoiding harsh lighting, where practical
• A different interview format altogether — for example, a video interview instead of in-person, or vice versa, where genuinely more accessible for the candidate
• A support worker, interpreter, or someone to accompany you, where relevant to your specific needs
• Adjusted timing or scheduling around a specific need — for example, avoiding very early morning slots where a condition affects this

This is illustrative of what's commonly requested and commonly accommodated, not a guaranteed or exhaustive list — if what you need isn't on it, raise it anyway. The reasonable adjustments duty applies to whatever would actually help in your specific situation, not only to a pre-approved menu of options.

Straightforward, commonly accommodated

Extra time, written questions in advance, a quieter room, an alternative document format — these are widely understood requests that most NHS recruitment teams can arrange without much lead time.

More involved — raise it as early as you can

A different interview format entirely, an interpreter or support worker, or a genuinely unusual adjustment specific to your situation may take more coordination — the earlier you raise these, the more realistic it is for the recruiting team to arrange them properly.

When and how to disclose

There's no single "correct" point at which to disclose a disability during NHS recruitment, and it's a genuinely personal decision with reasonable arguments on more than one side. Some candidates prefer to disclose as early as the application stage, so that adjustments can be built into the process from the outset. Others prefer to wait until they've received an interview invitation, and raise it only once an adjustment is actually needed. Neither approach is "wrong," and the law protects you from being treated less favourably whichever point you choose.

Decide what you actually need to share

You generally don't need to disclose your full diagnosis or medical history to request an adjustment — describing the specific adjustment (for example, "I need interview questions in writing in advance" or "I need extra time for the written exercise") is usually sufficient on its own.

Contact the named recruitment contact

Most interview invitations include a specific contact — often someone in recruitment or HR — precisely so candidates can raise queries, including adjustment requests. This is generally the most direct and reliable route, rather than relying on an equality monitoring form answer to trigger a practical response.

Be specific about the adjustment, not just the diagnosis

A specific, practical request ("I'd like the questions in writing 24 hours in advance") tends to be easier for a recruitment team to action quickly than a general statement about having a condition without saying what would actually help.

Follow up if you haven't heard back

If you don't get a response with reasonable time to spare before the interview, a polite follow-up is entirely appropriate — genuine administrative delays do happen, and most are resolved quickly once flagged again.

How to actually make the request

✓ Use the contact details in your interview invitation — this is the most direct and reliable route for a practical adjustment request
✓ Be specific about what would help, rather than only naming a diagnosis or condition generally
✓ Raise it as early as you reasonably can, particularly for anything more involved than extra time or written questions
✓ Keep a copy or note of what you requested and when, in case you need to follow up
✓ If you're not sure what to ask for, it's reasonable to describe the difficulty you anticipate and ask the recruitment team what options they can offer, rather than needing to arrive with the exact solution already worked out

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If a request is refused or ignored

Most interview adjustment requests are handled without difficulty, but it would be dishonest to claim this always goes smoothly. If a request is refused, ignored, or you feel you were treated less favourably because you made one, it's worth knowing this isn't something you have to simply accept without question.

• Follow up politely in writing first — genuine miscommunication does happen, and many cases resolve at this stage
• If a request is clearly refused, ask for the reasoning in writing — a properly considered refusal should have some explanation behind it, even if you don't agree with it
• Contact ACAS for free, impartial guidance on your position — they can advise on whether a specific situation looks like it may raise a discrimination issue
• The Equality and Human Rights Commission publishes detailed guidance on the recruitment duty specifically, and is a reasonable starting point if you want to understand your rights in more depth
• A trade union can often advise even before you're formally employed by the trust in question, particularly if you're already a member from a previous or current NHS role

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Why trust this guide

✓ Clearly separates recruitment-stage adjustments from in-post adjustments, cross-linking to FrontlinePay's dedicated in-post guide rather than duplicating it
✓ Explains the Equality Act's specific limits on pre-offer health questions, not just the general reasonable adjustments duty
✓ Frames disclosure as a genuine personal choice with no single 'correct' timing, rather than prescribing one approach
✓ Gives a concrete process for making a request, not just a list of legal principles
✓ Honest about what to do if a request is refused, including real routes (ACAS, EHRC, unions) rather than vague reassurance
✓ Independent and not affiliated with NHS England, the DHSC, ACAS, or the Equality and Human Rights Commission

This guide is independent, general information only — not legal advice — and FrontlinePay is not affiliated with NHS England, the DHSC, ACAS, or the Equality and Human Rights Commission. Whether your own circumstances meet the Equality Act 2010's definition of disability, and what adjustments are reasonable in your specific recruitment process, are genuinely case-by-case questions — for advice on your own situation, contact ACAS, the EHRC, or an employment law adviser.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to disclose my disability to ask for an interview adjustment? +

In practice, yes, to some extent — you generally need to tell the recruiting trust that you require an adjustment in order for them to arrange it, since they can't read your mind or guess what you need. What you don't have to do is disclose your full diagnosis, medical history, or every detail of your condition — you can generally frame a request around the specific adjustment needed (for example, 'I need extra time to complete written exercises' or 'I'd like interview questions provided in advance in writing') without going into clinical detail, unless you choose to. If a specific adjustment genuinely can't be understood or assessed without more context, the recruiting team may reasonably ask a clarifying question, but you're not obliged to share more than is needed to support the request.

Will asking for an adjustment at interview stage count against me? +

It shouldn't, and doing so would be unlawful discrimination under the Equality Act 2010 if it did — the law specifically protects disabled candidates from being treated less favourably because they've asked for, or use, a reasonable adjustment during recruitment. That's the legal position; it's also honest to acknowledge that some candidates worry about unconscious bias regardless of the law, which is a genuine and understandable concern. What can help is that NHS recruitment is structured around values-based, standardised scoring against fixed criteria, rather than free-form subjective impressions, which reduces (though doesn't entirely eliminate) the scope for an adjustment request to influence how your actual answers are scored.

What's the difference between asking for an adjustment at interview and once I'm already in the job? +

They're governed by the same Equality Act 2010 duty in principle, but the practical process and the kinds of adjustment involved are genuinely different. At interview, adjustments are about the recruitment process itself — extra time, written questions in advance, an alternative interview format, a specific room setup — and are typically arranged directly with the recruitment or HR team handling that vacancy. Once you're in post, adjustments are about your actual working conditions — shift patterns, equipment, workspace changes — and are typically arranged with your line manager, HR and often occupational health. Our disability and reasonable adjustments at work guide covers that in-post process in full; this page is specifically about the recruitment stage.

Can I ask for interview questions in advance? +

Yes, this is one of the more commonly requested and commonly granted interview adjustments, particularly relevant for candidates with conditions affecting processing speed, working memory, anxiety, or verbal processing under pressure — including many autistic and ADHD candidates. Trusts vary in exactly how they accommodate this (some provide the full question set in advance, others provide question themes or categories rather than the exact wording, to preserve some element of the assessment), so it's worth being specific about what would genuinely help you when you make the request, rather than assuming a single standard format applies everywhere.

What if I don't find out I need an adjustment until I've already received the interview invitation? +

That's a completely normal situation, and it doesn't mean you've missed your chance — most interview invitations include contact details for the recruitment team specifically so candidates can raise queries, including adjustment requests, right up until shortly before the interview date. The earlier you can raise it the better, simply because some adjustments take more lead time to arrange than others, but a request made a few days before an interview is still a completely reasonable and common thing to do, and shouldn't be treated as too late.

Do I need evidence or a diagnosis letter to get an interview adjustment? +

Not necessarily for straightforward, low-impact adjustments — a request for written questions in advance or extra time for a written exercise is often accommodated on request alone, without requiring documentary evidence, particularly given how genuinely long adult diagnostic waiting lists can be for some conditions. For a more substantial adjustment, or one a recruitment team is less familiar accommodating, they may reasonably ask for some supporting information, though this should be proportionate to the adjustment requested rather than an automatic demand for full medical evidence in every case.

Does a values-based interview format make adjustments more or less complicated? +

Not especially — the STAR-based, values-based interview format most NHS recruitment uses is generally compatible with the same kinds of adjustment used in any other interview format. Extra time, questions in writing, or a different room setup all sit comfortably alongside a values-based scoring approach, since the adjustment changes how the question is delivered or how much time you have, not what's actually being assessed. See our values-based interview guide for how the format itself works, separately from adjustment requests.

What if the adjustment I need is something unusual that isn't on a standard list? +

Raise it anyway. The Equality Act's reasonable adjustments duty isn't limited to a fixed menu of pre-approved options — it applies to whatever adjustment would actually help remove or reduce the disadvantage you'd otherwise face in that specific recruitment process, assessed on its own facts. A genuinely unusual request may take the recruitment team a bit longer to arrange or think through, which is exactly why raising it as early as you reasonably can matters, but an adjustment not appearing on a typical checklist doesn't mean it's automatically out of the question.

Should I disclose a disability on the application form itself, separate from requesting an interview adjustment? +

This is a genuinely separate, personal decision from requesting an interview adjustment, and it's worth understanding the distinction. Many NHS application forms include an equality monitoring section, which is meant to be handled anonymously and kept separate from anyone actually making shortlisting or interview decisions — disclosing there is about equality data collection, not about arranging a specific interview adjustment. If you need an actual adjustment, the more reliable route is contacting the recruitment team directly (using the contact details in your invitation) rather than relying on an equality monitoring answer to trigger anything practical.

What if I feel my request was ignored or handled badly? +

First, don't assume the worst immediately — genuine miscommunication and administrative slip-ups do happen, and a polite follow-up to the recruitment contact, referencing your original request, resolves plenty of cases. If a request is clearly refused, or you feel you were treated unfavourably because you made one, that's a serious matter worth raising formally, and it's worth knowing that unlawful failure to make a reasonable adjustment during recruitment, or victimising a candidate for requesting one, can amount to disability discrimination under the Equality Act 2010. ACAS, the Equality and Human Rights Commission, or an employment law adviser can help you understand your options if a situation like this arises, and a trade union can also offer advice even before you're formally employed by the trust in question.

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