Last reviewed: 22 June 2022
- Employers have a duty to make adjustments to tests and assessments to remove barriers for disabled candidates.
- Communicate clearly and early with candidates about any tests and assessments so they can ask about adjustments as early as possible.
- The adjustments that you need to make will be unique to the candidate, their disability, your organisation and the role they are applying for – so work with the candidate to work out what adjustments would be best.
- Contact our Advice Service for tailored guidance.
Communicating with candidates
- Let candidates know whether tests and assessments will be involved in the recruitment process.
- Outline what will be involved so that they can know if any adjustments will be necessary.
- Invite candidates to get in touch to talk about adjustments. They may know what they need, or you may need to work with them to identify what you can do to remove barriers in tests and assessment policies and practices.
- Let candidates know whether adjustments you have discussed are possible. If they aren’t, offer to work with them to identify alternatives.
What barriers can there be in tests and assessments?
Adjustments are necessary to remove barriers that candidates may face when completing a test or assessment.
Communication barriers
Some disabled candidates may face communication barriers in tests and assessments. These barriers may relate to:
- Reading and writing – for example, candidates with sight loss, dyslexia or disabilities that affect their fine motor skills. These candidates may need audio versions of tests, extra time to complete the test, or specialist equipment such as ergonomic computer mice and keyboards and speech-to-text software.
- Speaking – for example, candidates with mental health conditions such as anxiety, candidates with multiple sclerosis or other disabilities that affect muscle control, and candidates with neurodiverse conditions such as autism or ADHD.
- Body language – for example, candidates with conditions such as autism may not present the expected body language during a test such as giving a presentation. The body language of candidates with fluctuating conditions or chronic pain may also seem unexpected if they are experiencing a flare-up or struggling to manage their condition.
- Preparation and organisation – for example, if there is a test or assessment that requires prior preparation, a candidate with a condition such as ADHD may find this more difficult than other candidates. You could consider giving them extra time to prepare for the test, or allowing them to use notes they’ve taken to prepare.
Physical barriers
There can also be barriers in the physical premises where the test takes place. Make sure that any venue you use for tests and assessments is completely accessible before you invite candidates to assessment.
Refer to our ‘Premises accessibility checklist’ to see what you need to check.
Online and remote tests and assessments
The duty on employers to avoid discrimination and make adjustments also applies to online and remote testing.
Communicate with candidates about what you are testing and how they should complete the test. This applies for all testing, but especially with online or remote testing, as it may be harder for them to ask for clarification if they aren’t doing it in person. Consider providing guidance to candidates about how they should complete the assessment if necessary. For more advice, see our resource ‘Communicating with applicants and candidates’.
Make sure to test the accessibility of any online platforms you use to conduct testing. If possible, allow candidates to practice using the testing platform before the test itself, so they can familiarise themselves with how it works and discover if they need any adjustments. Do this with enough time for them to ask for adjustments and for those adjustments to be put in place.
Some disabled people may not be computer-literate or confident using the internet. It may be reasonable to allow them to take the test in person if this is the case.
Adjustments to tests and assessments
Some examples of adjustments you can make to tests and assessments are:
- Change the format of the test, for example, from written into audio, or from small into large print.
- Allow written tests to be done on a computer which is compatible with adaptive software.
- Allow for the presence of a support worker.
- Weight the total score to take into account processes that the applicant identifies as problematic because of their disability.
- Apply a more qualitative and flexible approach to scoring. Comparisons with the ‘norm’ may be neither accurate nor useful.
- Ensure the venue and workstation is accessible, for example, a large monitor screen might be needed for a particular candidate.
- Be flexible with time. A candidate may, for example, need to stand or walk around to alleviate back pain or write slowly because of their disability.
- Send a practice test to the candidate prior to interview so that the candidate can specify adjustments needed. This will also reassure a disabled candidate who fears an inaccessible test.
This is not an exhaustive list. What is reasonable and possible will depend on the role, the nature of the test and individual.
For advice about a specific situation, contact our Advice Service.
Adjustments to remote tests and assessments
There can also be barriers in tests and assessments carried out remotely. Some common barriers are:
- Inaccessible tests – for example, if the test is carried out online and cannot be read by a screen reader or is incompatible with the zoom function in the user’s browser.
- Unclear guidance – for example, when the candidate is sent guidance on how to complete the test in an inaccessible format, such as a PDF document that is not accessible to screen readers or uses a small font.
- Un-inclusive design – for example, if the remote testing is not designed with flexibility to allow candidates to have necessary adjustments such as extra time.
Common adjustments to remote tests and assessments are:
- Providing tests in alternative formats – for example, sending them a paper format if the test is online, or conducting the test verbally over a video call.
- Providing equipment and software – for example, adapted computer equipment, speech-to-text software or screen reading software.
- Allowing candidates to have extra time and more detailed guidance on how to complete the assessment.
These are just examples, and what is necessary and possible will depend on the candidate, the role and the organisation. Contact our Advice Service for tailored guidance.
Managing candidates’ expectations
One problem that a number of our Member organisations have told us about is managing disabled graduates’ expectations about what adjustments will be possible in employment. This can also be an issue for any disabled candidate who comes from a role where adjustments are possible that won’t be possible in this role. This issue often first arises when arranging adjustments to tests and assessments for disabled candidates.
Often, disabled students are able to have adjustments while in education which it would be less feasible for employers to implement. For example, while a student may be able to have extra time at exams, it may not be possible to have extra time to complete certain tasks at work. Similarly, an employer may say that a piece of assistive software is incompatible with their cybersecurity arrangements, whereas the employee had been able to use it as a student.
Employers can address this issue by:
- Inclusive design – design tests and assessments so that as few disabled candidates as possible will need adjustments.
- Plan ahead – know in advance what adjustments will and won’t be possible. You won’t be able to plan for every adjustment – think about the adjustments that are most commonly asked for and which are most likely to be needed for that specific assessment.
- Communicate openly with candidates – When candidates ask for adjustments that aren’t possible, let them know as soon as possible that they can’t have what they’ve asked for.
- Work with the candidate – If you can’t provide an adjustment that a candidate has asked for, work with them to identify alternative adjustments that would remove or reduce the barrier. You should also involve colleagues from HR and Occupational Health teams where appropriate.
- Use positive language – Say something like “Unfortunately X change isn’t possible for this test/assessment. However, we could make the following changes instead […]. Would you like this change in place for your test/assessment? Are there any other changes you would like to discuss?”
For more advice, contact our Advice Service.
Read next
- What is ‘reasonable’ in recruitment?
- Communicating with applicants and candidates
- Asking about adjustments – Language
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