Guidance on Requesting Reasonable Adjustment Needs

Police Staff Recruitment - Guidance on Requesting Reasonable Adjustment Needs

PSNI welcomes applications from all and will consider any reasonable adjustment needs requests from applicants.

In order to support those with disabilities within the recruitment process, we need you to tell us on your application form, if you have any adjustment needs that may require us to make reasonable adjustments so that you can attend and fully participate. This webpage outlines the steps you should take if you wish to request a reasonable adjustment relating to a disability or condition. This includes hidden disabilities or conditions such as Autism Spectrum Disorder or specific learning difficulties such as Dyslexia. For example, you should make us aware of any communication or access needs that relate to a disability or condition you may have. Please note that you are not required to tell us of any disability or other condition that you may have if you do not wish to do so. Any information declared will be used only to facilitate the scheduling and assessment of applicants. 

Any applicant with a disability or other condition will be considered individually on their merit and all requests for reasonable adjustments will be considered in line with the Disability Discrimination Act.

Please note that if you do not declare reasonable adjustment needs requests (if applicable) on your online application form, or do not provide full supporting evidence by the deadline set, we will not be in a position to consider any adjustment needs requests submitted later in the recruitment process (unless it was not possible for you to have known about the matter at the time of application stage*).

Declaring reasonable adjustments needs on the online application form

Applicants with ANY disability or condition who wishes to request reasonable adjustment needs must do so within the 'Reasonable Adjustments' section of the online application form. These needs may relate to disabilities or other conditions (including hidden disabilities or conditions such as Autism Spectrum Disorder or specific learning difficulties such as Dyslexia.

Please summarise your specific needs in relation to your disability or condition. We will follow up with you after you have submitted supporting evidence if more detail is needed. Should you have any other reason to contact us to discuss general assessment arrangements please email PoliceStaffRecruitment@psni.police.uk and we will consider and respond accordingly.

Instructions on how to provide evidence relating to your reasonable adjustments needs

Applicants wishing to request reasonable adjustment needs, having declared these needs on the online application form must follow up by email to PoliceStaffRecruitment@psni.police.uk as soon as possible and no later than 10 working days after the closing date, attaching complete, valid, supporting diagnostic evidence, addressing adjustment needs. Guidance on appropriate types of evidence is outlined below.  

Evidence should be scanned as one single document and emailed to PoliceStaffRecruitment@psni.police.uk 

When providing evidence by email you must include

• Your name.
• Your date of birth.
• Your Unique Identifier Number (UID) e.g. 22222 and not application ID.
• Details of the time and date you made your online application.
• Details of the job you applied for.

Mobile phone photos of documentation will be accepted as an alternative to scans, providing they are clear and the order of pages included is obvious.

All requests for adjustments and evidence will be reviewed by a suitably qualified professional and, if appropriate, reasonable adjustments will be applied to assessment and you will be informed as such. In the case that a request for adjustment cannot reasonably be facilitated, you would be offered an opportunity to participate in non-adjusted assessment.

Providing evidence relating to Dyslexia or SpLD Adjustment Needs

If you have dyslexia or other SpLD and would like adjustments to be considered you must submit your most decent diagnostic report, addressing assessment adjustment needs, prepared by a qualified educational psychologist or other suitably qualified professional (e.g. certain chartered psychologists or in some circumstances specialist teachers with a current Practicing Certificate in SpLD Assessment).

The following requirements must be met in full (no later than 10 working days after the closing date) in order for the report to be considered:

• An individual dyslexia diagnostic report (and not a dyslexia screen or profile) is required.
• The report must be complete with no pages missing.
• The report itself must be submitted and not a commentary on the report by a third party.
• If a follow-up report or reports are available, both the follow-up and the original report should be provided.

Providing evidence relating to Disabilities or Other Conditions (including hidden disabilities or conditions such as Autism Spectrum Disorder) Adjustment Needs (i.e. not related to dyslexia or other SpLDs)

If you have a disability or other condition (including hidden disabilities or conditions such as Autism Spectrum Disorder) and would like a reasonable adjustment, so that we can fully consider your request, we require further detail on the needs that you are declaring. You must submit your most recent evidence relating to your disability or other condition prepared by your doctor or other appropriate professional.

The evidence must include a written statement outlining the details of your disability or other condition and setting out the professional recommendation for appropriate adjustments to assessment. 

The following requirements must be met in full (no later than 10 working days after the closing date) in order for evidence to be considered:

• The evidence must be complete with no pages missing.
• The original evidence itself must be submitted and not a commentary on the report by a third party.
• If a follow-up report or reports are available, both the follow-up and the original report should be provided. 

 A copy of this guidance is available as a PDF document via the following link: Link to PDF copy - Guidance on Requesting Reasonable Adjustment Needs