1. Introduction

The Inner Temple is committed to making reasonable adjustments to ensure its activities are accessible and inclusive, and to providing support and fair opportunity to all.

This policy sets out the approach that we take to identifying where reasonable adjustments are required and how we respond proactively to this. The scope of this policy includes membership applications, committee meetings, educational events, courses and residential weekends, Call ceremonies and scholarship interviews, held both in-person and online.

2. Definitions

What is a disability?

The Equality Act (2010) provides protection against discrimination, harassment, and victimisation on the grounds of disability and other protected characteristics.

A person is disabled if they have a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. This encompasses individuals with physical or sensory impairments, mental ill health, specific learning difficulties, and a range of chronic or fluctuating conditions.

It is unlawful to discriminate against a disabled person in relation to the provision of education and related services. However, it is lawful to treat a disabled person more favourably because of their disability.

What is a reasonable adjustment?

A reasonable adjustment is a reasonable change to a process, practice, procedure or environment that helps remove, reduce or prevent the obstacles faced by a disabled person. This could include alterations to the process of becoming a member of the Inner Temple, participating in an interview process, attending educational programme or training delivery and being assessed.

We recognise two categories of disability which may lead to the provision of reasonable adjustments:

• Permanent or long-standing disability, illness, mental health condition or special educational need, e.g. sight impairment, diabetes, anxiety, dyslexia.
• Temporary disability, illness or indisposition, e.g. broken limb, chronic pain.

Inclusive design of teaching and assessment content is at the heart of how we work and ensures that accessibility is embedded in all of our educational activities.

We take an anticipatory approach to reasonable adjustments. We design our events, courses and assessments with inclusion in mind and we test this routinely with Equality Impact Assessments. We are mindful that adjustments may still be required, and our policy and procedures set out how these will be considered with the aim of removing any barriers for disabled members. In the case of interviews and/or assessments, we can only make adjustments to the assessment arrangements and not the standard being assessed.

Providing reasonable adjustments features in all of our procedures relating to educational events planning.

3. Purpose 

The purpose of this policy is to:

• Inform members and prospective members about how to request a reasonable adjustment and how it will be responded to.
• Support staff at the Inn to comply with relevant equality legislation.
• Outline the necessary steps for the effective implementation of reasonable adjustments.
• Inform members and prospective members how to appeal a decision made in relation to a reasonable adjustment request.

4. Applying for a reasonable adjustment

The table below outlines how reasonable adjustments should be requested for each programme and activity:

5. Examples of Reasonable Adjustments

The list below includes some examples of reasonable adjustments though this list is not exhaustive. Please note that not all adjustments listed will be relevant to the programme or activity you are participating in, and you are advised to check the format of the relevant activity programme or event before making a request.

• Closed captions on zoom meetings or recording content.
• Accessible rooms including with disabled facilities, e.g. at residentials.
• Provision of materials in different formats e.g. online, coloured paper, large print.
• Additional reading, preparation or interview time.
• Quiet areas.
• Use of a laptop for note taking.
• Use of specific software.

6. Requests for Reasonable Adjustments outside of the stated timescales

If you have a new reasonable adjustment request after the deadline, you must contact the relevant team in writing via email as soon as possible. Later notification may mean we are unable to accommodate the reasonable adjustments as there is insufficient time to put your requirements in place; however, we will always endeavour to do so.

If you have a new requirement or your required reasonable adjustments change during the course of a programme, for example during the year that you are undertaking Qualifying Sessions, please contact the relevant team as soon as possible and we will work with you to make adjustments as quickly as possible, following the decision making process set out in Section 8.

7. Evidence

Where evidence is required (please refer to table above) we will ask you to provide supporting evidence as part of our Reasonable Adjustments processes. This could be in the form of a Learning Support Plan from an education provider or a statement of need from your specialist consultant, your GP, an occupational health adviser, an educational specialist or another specialist with appropriate qualifications. The purpose of this is to assist our team in making appropriate adjustments for you.  If you do not have suitable evidence to support your request, please indicate this in your request for adjustments and we will work with you to explore how your needs can be best met.

Evidence must be:

• Written by independent and appropriately qualified professionals.
• On headed paper, signed (e signature is acceptable) and dated by the author/ practitioner
• Written in English[1].
• Unaltered by the applicant. Documentation that has been amended for any reason will be deemed inadmissible.

8. Decision making process 

When a request is considered to be straightforward and there is a clear basis for the request, approval will be granted by the relevant manager and adjustments put in place. The level of involvement of Committee Chairs and/or Course Directors in straight forward cases will be agreed collaboratively at the programme or function level. However, in the following instances a Reasonable Adjustments Panel will be convened:

• An adjustment or the type/amount of support requested is not considered by the relevant manager to be reasonable.
• The request is unclear or sufficiently complex that the manager and the relevant Committee Chair or Course Director do not feel confident to make a decision.
• The cost of the reasonable adjustment requested has significant cost implications for the Inn.

The purpose of the Panel is to consider:

• The type/amount of support requested.
• Whether this is reasonable or not.
• Whether the requested support (or suitable alternative adjustments) should be offered.

Membership of the Panel will comprise:

• Member of Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity (EDI) Sub-Committee.
• Senior member of the Education & Training Department
• Member of the Committee associated with the relevant activity.
• Relevant Operational Manager

Normally the EDI Sub-Committee member will chair the Panel.

Depending on the nature of the request, specialist advice may be co-opted onto the Panel. The individual making the request may also be invited by the Chair to attend part of the meeting to provide supplementary information directly to the Panel.

9. Outcomes

The outcomes available to the panel are:

• To offer support as requested by the applicant or recommended in their supporting evidence.
• To decline to offer any support as requested by the applicant on the basis that the associated adjustments are unreasonable and that no reasonable alternatives are available.
• To offer an alternative version of the support requested by an applicant on the basis that the requested adjustments are unreasonable but alternative adjustments are considered reasonable and will provide a broadly equivalent level of support or access.

Not everyone on the panel has to agree to the final panel decision – the panel can issue a majority decision.  In circumstances where the panel decision is evenly split, the Chair will make the final decision.

You will be notified in writing (usually via email) of the decision regarding adjustments. Wherever possible, we would aim to notify you of the decision within two weeks of receipt of an application. If a reasonable adjustment request is declined, the reasons for this will be provided.

10. Appealing a decision

You are entitled to challenge a decision to decline an application for a reasonable adjustment, or the decision to offer an alternative version of the support you requested, provided you submit your appeal in writing (including by email) to the Inn within two weeks of receiving notification of the original decision.

A review panel will normally be convened within two weeks of receipt of your appeal. The panel will comprise:

• Master of Wellbeing or Assistant Master of Wellbeing, who shall act as Chair.
• EDI Sub-Committee representative (this must not be the same representative as on the relevant Reasonable Adjustments Panel).
• Director of Education, Director of the Treasury Office or Sub-Treasurer.

Members of the review panel will not have been directly involved in the original decision.

You will be asked to provide evidence to support your reasons for challenging the decision.

You will be notified in writing (usually via email) of the final decision regarding adjustments as soon as possible and usually within four weeks of submitting your appeal. The timing of events may mean that there will insufficient time to process an appeal before an event takes place. In these situations the outcome will be recorded to inform future decisions but cannot retrospectively be implemented.

Should you disagree with the decision of the review panel, you have the right to express your dissatisfaction through our complaints procedure, which is available on our website (https://www.innertemple.org.uk/who-we-are/how-we-operate/policy-statements/complaints/).

11. Data Protection

By submitting a request for reasonable adjustments, the applicant agrees to personal data being held for the purposes of processing the request, in accordance with the 2018 Data Protection Act.

If you would like your disability information to remain confidential, you will be advised if this will restrict the adjustments that can be made for you. This would be the case if circumstances are such that staff, trainers, interview panellists and host chambers would need to know who you are in order to make the relevant adjustment.

In line with our data retention schedules, any information relating to reasonable adjustments will be held from the date of last attendance of an Inner Temple event, or the date of last participation in an Inner Temple activity, plus 5 years.

[1] It is the applicant’s responsibility to provide supporting documentation, and any translation should be undertaken by an accredited translator (e.g. be a member of the Association of Translation Companies – https://www.atc.org.uk). The responsibility, and any potentials costs, rest entirely with the applicant.

This policy sets out the approach that we take to identifying where reasonable adjustments are required and how we respond proactively to this. The scope of this policy includes access into and around buildings, and alternative facilities available.

The Equality Act 2010 provides protection against discrimination, harassment, and victimisation on the grounds of disability and other protected characteristics.

A person is disabled if they have a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. This encompasses individuals with physical or sensory impairments, mental ill health, specific learning difficulties, and a range of chronic or fluctuating conditions.

It is unlawful to discriminate against a disabled person in relation to the provision of access to property and related services. However, it is lawful to treat a disabled person more favourably because of their disability.

The physical constraints of the Inn’s buildings, and their protected character via Listing and the Conservation Area policies limits the level of access that can be provided, but other opportunities to apply reasonable adjustments may exist through other means. Assisting in the provision of alternative solutions is at the heart of how we work and ensures that accessible premises are provided for those that require them. 

We have already provided a number of measures to aid accessibility into the Inn’s buildings and take a reactive approach to other reasonable adjustment requests from tenants and residents. We are mindful that adjustments may still be required, and our policy and procedures set out how these will be considered with the aim of removing any barriers for disabled members.

The Inn’s Treasury Building refurbishment was designed to ensure that the widest cross-section of our membership, and those outside our membership who use our facilities can do so. Reasonable adjustments feature in all procedures relating to events planning. The policy is available on the Inn’s website.  

You can apply for a reasonable adjustment if you have a permanent or temporary disability, medical condition or learning need.

Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to:

• Inform tenants and residents about how to request a reasonable adjustment and how it will be responded to,
• Support staff at the Inn to comply with relevant equality legislation,
• Outline the necessary steps for the effective implementation of reasonable adjustments,

Applying for a reasonable adjustment

Barrister Conferences

Requests for accessible accommodation (where chambers’ normal rented accommodation precludes access), for the purposes of a conference between barrister and client, involving a disabled barrister or client, should be made to the Catering Sales and Marketing Department, who will allocate an accessible room, free of charge, but subject to availability.

Events, seminars, and courses held by chambers

If chambers require a reasonable adjustment for such an event, such as accessible accommodation for an event where disabled delegates are expected, a request for suitable accommodation should be made to Catering Sales & Marketing at the earliest opportunity. This will be provided, subject to availability, at normal hire rates.

Pupillage interviews

If chambers require a reasonable adjustment for such an event, such as accessible accommodation for an event where disabled pupil(s) are expected, a request for suitable accommodation should be made to Catering Sales & Marketing at the earliest opportunity. This will be provided, subject to availability, free of charge, but with any requested refreshments at normal costs of provision.

Applying for reasonable adjustments within chambers or residences

Any chambers tenant or resident may seek the Inn’s advice on the provision of reasonable adjustments within chambers or residences. The advice given will depend on the nature of the adjustment requested, the reason for the requested adjustment, and the feasibility of its provision, given the protected historic fabric of the majority of the Inn’s estate, and guide the applicant through any associated planning or conservation aspects. Dependent upon the nature of the requested adjustment, and the extent to which it confers long-term benefit to the premises, the Inn may offer to fully fund, or contribute towards the adjustment. A challenge to a refusal of funding may be put in writing and placed before the Inn’s Estates Committee, whose decision shall be final.

Data Protection

By submitting a request for reasonable adjustments, the applicant agrees to personal data being held for the purposes of processing the request, in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018.

If disability information is required to remain confidential, the applicant will be advised if this will restrict the adjustments that can be made. This would be the case if circumstances are such that staff, or other personnel, would need to know who you are in order to make the relevant adjustment.

In line with the Inn’s data retention schedules, any information relating to reasonable adjustments will be held only for the time relevant to specific activity.

Appealing a decision

A challenge, to a refusal of Inn funding for a reasonable adjustment request, or where the Inn considers that it is for the applicant to make the reasonable adjustment, may be made in writing by the applicant and placed before the Inn’s Estates Committee, whose decision shall be final. If a reasonable adjustment request is declined, the reasons for this will be provided.

You will be asked to provide evidence to support your reasons for challenging the decision.