Will a Full-Time Homeworking Adjustment Stop Me Getting Promoted?
Civil Service Promotion With a Disability-Related Homeworking Adjustment
Hello,
I have worked in my department for nearly four years and want to start applying for HEO roles.
I currently work from home full time as a reasonable adjustment for a disability. The arrangement is documented and I have been performing successfully in my current role.
A union representative told me that office-attendance requirements could mean my applications are discarded once the recruiting team learns about the adjustment. That has made me worry that I am effectively blocked from promotion.
Can a department reject me simply because I need full-time homeworking? When should I raise the adjustment, and how can I find out whether the duties of a particular HEO role could be done with the same arrangement?
Quick Answer
A full-time homeworking adjustment should not create an automatic bar to promotion. The recruiting department can consider the essential duties and working arrangements of the new role, but the question should be whether reasonable adjustments can remove the disadvantage in that specific role, not whether you currently attend an office.
Read our Civil Service reasonable adjustments at work guide for the relevant process, checks and practical guidance.
Need help with your own situation? Visit Get Tailored Advice or browse more questions in Advice.
What I Would Do Before Applying for HEO With a Full-Time WFH Adjustment
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Continue reading to see how I would test whether the role is genuinely compatible, use the recruitment-adjustment route and respond if a blanket attendance rule is used instead of an individual assessment.
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