Write a request that connects your disability to a specific work barrier, proposes an adjustment and asks for a reasoned response under the employer's equal opportunity policy. A private employer is not outside India's disability-rights framework. But do not copy the government-employment protections in section 20 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act as though every clause automatically applies to your private job. Use the general non-discrimination provisions, the policy duties and the facts of the adjustment you need.
Part of the employment and labour law practice at S Jain & Attorneys, Bangalore.
The refusal may be brief: "Everyone follows the same attendance rule" or "We cannot make exceptions." That answer can leave a person unable to use an office entrance, participate in meetings or work with an inaccessible system. The next letter should show what the barrier prevents and how a workable change would let you perform the role.
This guide addresses an employee seeking an adjustment in a private establishment. It does not assume that every illness meets the Act's disability definition or that every preferred arrangement must be granted. The object is an individual assessment supported by a usable record, rather than a general appeal for sympathy.
What should the first written request contain?
Identify the job task, the disability-related barrier, the adjustment sought and the supporting information. Explain the result the adjustment would enable. For example, an accessible version of a reporting tool may allow you to complete the same report independently. A revised start time may address a documented treatment or functional need without changing the total work expected.
Key takeaway. A strong request explains the work you can do with an adjustment. It gives the employer a concrete proposal to assess and creates a record of the barrier, rather than allowing the discussion to remain a vague disagreement about flexibility.
A suggested opening is: "I request an individual assessment of the following disability-related work barrier and the adjustment described below. I can perform [task] if [change] is made. Please provide the equal opportunity policy, identify the responsible contact and give a written decision addressing the proposal and any workable alternative." Attach only accurate supporting material.
State any urgency. If a new attendance rule starts next week or a software migration will remove an accessible feature, identify that date. Ask for an interim arrangement while the request is considered. Do not assert that sending the email itself changes the employment terms or authorises an unapproved absence.
Which disability-law protections reach private establishments?
The Act defines an establishment to include government and private establishments. Section 2(h)'s discrimination definition includes denial of reasonable accommodation. Section 3(3) prohibits disability discrimination unless the act or omission is shown to be a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim. These provisions should not be replaced with a blanket claim that private employers have no duties.
Section 21 requires every establishment to notify an equal opportunity policy and register a copy with the relevant Commissioner. Rule 8 of the central Rules sets out publication and policy content. These are important starting points for a private employee who needs to know what the employer has committed to and who administers it.
The Supreme Court's discussion in Jane Kaushik v Union of India, decided on 17 October 2025, reproduces and affirms the disability-law reasoning in Vikash Kumar v UPSC about reasonable accommodation and private-sector responsibilities. The passage supports an inclusive, substantive approach. It is not a judgment granting every private employee permanent remote work or a particular transfer.
Keep the scope of each authority clear. A general right to non-discrimination, a policy obligation and a specific government-service protection may support different requests and remedies. Your letter becomes more persuasive when it invokes the provision that fits your employment rather than listing every section in the Act.
Why should I be careful with section 20?
Section 20 expressly addresses government establishments in important parts of its employment framework. Its protection for an employee who acquires a disability during service includes a government-establishment rule against dispensing with or reducing that employee in rank, with specified alternative-post arrangements. A private employee should not quote that scheme as an automatic guarantee of identical treatment in every private workplace.
That distinction does not dispose of a private employee's complaint. The general non-discrimination framework, reasonable-accommodation concept, equal opportunity policy and applicable employment law still need assessment. The mistake is to make the entire argument depend on a government-specific clause and then let HR reject the request on that ground alone.
Similarly, the statutory Grievance Redressal Officer mechanism in section 23 is framed for government establishments. A private employer may have a liaison officer or its own grievance contact under its policy. Ask for the correct person instead of assuming every private company must have the same officer with the same statutory procedure.
If your employer's status is uncertain, check it. A government company, an aided institution and an ordinary private company may not raise the same classification question. The name on the letterhead is not enough. Obtain advice where ownership, control or statutory status could change the applicable protection.
What makes an adjustment reasonable?
Section 2(y) describes necessary and appropriate modifications and adjustments that do not impose a disproportionate or undue burden in the particular case and enable equal enjoyment or exercise of rights. The assessment is individual. Neither the employee's preference nor the employer's general dislike of exceptions is the complete legal test.
Explain the barrier and the expected benefit. If you ask for speech-to-text software, identify the task it supports and whether it works with the existing system. If you request a quiet workspace, describe the functional problem with the current setting and the relevant work requirements. Practical detail makes it possible to assess the proposal.
Offer an alternative where one genuinely works. A different meeting format, accessible document, adjusted schedule or equipment trial may solve the issue without the precise arrangement first suggested. You need not pretend an ineffective option meets your needs, but explain why it fails instead of rejecting it without reasons.
Ask the employer to identify any claimed burden. Cost, technical incompatibility, essential on-site duties or another concrete constraint may require examination. "Company policy" is not a factual explanation of why the particular adjustment is disproportionate. A reasoned response should connect the objection to the proposed measure and the actual role.
Task and barrier
Describe the work requirement and the specific disability-related obstacle, using a recent example rather than a general statement that work is difficult.
Proposed adjustment
Explain the change, how it enables the task and any practical alternative that would meet the same functional need.
Review point
Suggest a sensible trial or review date where useful, with clear measures for whether the arrangement actually removes the identified barrier.
How much medical information should I provide?
Provide enough reliable information to establish the relevant disability and functional need, while asking for confidential handling of unrelated medical details. A certificate or clinician's explanation may be important. The useful document explains the limitation and the adjustment's purpose, rather than merely repeating a diagnosis without linking it to the job.
Do not alter a medical document or ask a clinician to certify a legal conclusion they cannot support. A treating professional can explain functional effects, likely duration and relevant restrictions. Whether a particular workplace response satisfies the law is a separate assessment.
If HR requests your entire treatment history, ask what specific issue it needs to determine and whether a focused report would answer it. Identify who will receive the information and how it will be stored. This is a practical request for proportionate handling, not a claim that the employer can never ask for supporting evidence.
A short-term injury, chronic condition and disability under the Act may raise different legal questions. The statutory definition concerns long-term impairments interacting with barriers. Do not assume that a diagnosis alone resolves coverage, or that absence of a particular label necessarily resolves it against you. Have the facts assessed where status is disputed.
Does the forty-percent benchmark decide every accommodation request?
No. The Act distinguishes a person with disability from a person with benchmark disability. Specific reservation and benefit provisions may depend on benchmark status, but the general reasonable-accommodation discussion should not be reduced to a universal forty-percent entry condition.
The Supreme Court's reasoning in Vikash Kumar, discussed in the 2025 Jane Kaushik judgment, emphasises the difference between broad disability rights and benefits reserved for benchmark categories. A request for an accessible way to perform work should be examined against its proper legal basis rather than rejected simply because it is not a reservation application.
That does not remove the need for evidence. If the employer disputes coverage or the functional need, ask it to identify the information required and the rule relied on. Provide the documents you have and explain any pending assessment. Do not describe yourself as holding a certificate you have not obtained.
If a particular benefit under the employer's policy expressly depends on certification, distinguish that benefit from the broader adjustment request. You may need to pursue a certification question while asking for an interim practical measure. Keep those two requests clear so neither disappears into the other.
What should I look for in the equal opportunity policy?
Ask for the current policy and the version in force when you first requested the adjustment. Rule 8 requires publication, preferably on the establishment's website or otherwise at conspicuous places on its premises. A policy that HR cannot locate is itself a matter to record.
For private establishments with twenty or more employees, the central Rule 8 framework specifies a fuller set of policy matters, including facilities, suitable posts, selection and training, assistive devices, accessibility and a liaison officer. For a private establishment with fewer than twenty employees, the policy still addresses facilities and amenities enabling employees with disabilities to discharge their duties. Smaller size is not a universal exemption from having a policy.
Read the actual commitments. A clause promising an accessible recruitment process may not answer who approves assistive software after appointment. Ask for the implementation contact, approval process and reasons if the proposed measure is refused. Where State rules or directions also apply, they should be checked for the relevant establishment.
| Policy question | Document to request | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Who handles the request? | Policy and designated contact details | Prevents repeated referral between manager and HR |
| What support is available? | Facilities, devices and adjustment provisions | Connects the request to an existing commitment |
| How was refusal decided? | Written reasons and alternatives assessed | Makes the disagreement reviewable |
| What happens next? | Trial, implementation or review record | Shows whether an approved change actually occurred |
Can the employer make me pay for the adjustment?
Rule 3(4) says an establishment must not compel a person with disability to pay partly or fully the costs incurred for reasonable accommodation. If HR asks you to buy the required equipment or reimburse an access modification, request the basis in writing and identify the rule.
Keep the question focused on reasonable accommodation. A dispute about an optional premium product, personal purchase or unrelated benefit may require a different analysis. Explain why the item is needed for the work barrier and distinguish that need from an upgrade you prefer for other reasons.
If you already paid, preserve the invoice, approval messages and the circumstances in which the payment was required. Ask the employer to review the allocation of cost. Do not assume that buying equipment without discussing compatibility or approval guarantees reimbursement of any price you selected.
Ownership, maintenance and access should also be clear once equipment is provided. Ask who installs software, handles updates and replaces a failed device. An approved accommodation that stops working because nobody owns the maintenance task can leave the original barrier unresolved.
What if HR says the adjustment is unfair to other employees?
Ask it to assess the disability-related barrier and the effect of the adjustment. Equal treatment is not always achieved by imposing the same method on people facing different barriers. The reasonable-accommodation framework exists because identical arrangements can exclude a person from performing work on equal terms.
Do not turn the request into a contest over whose circumstances are hardest. Explain what the change enables and how work responsibilities will be met. If colleagues need to know a scheduling instruction, they do not necessarily need your diagnosis or medical records.
Where the employer raises an operational concern, address it concretely. A proposed shift change may affect a handover, and a remote arrangement may affect an on-site task. Offer a workable plan or ask the employer to propose one. The discussion should examine the actual job, not assume that every task must be performed in the same location or manner forever.
After a meeting, send a short record of the options discussed and the unresolved issue. If HR says an alternative will be offered, ask for a date and responsible person. An indefinite promise to "consider flexibility" is difficult to implement or challenge.
How should I answer a refusal based on performance?
Separate the performance concern from the denied adjustment. Identify which targets were affected by the barrier and which were not. If inaccessible software prevented completion of a task, show when you reported that problem and what workaround was available. Do not claim that disability automatically excuses every unrelated performance issue.
Ask whether performance will be assessed after the proposed adjustment has been tried. Preserve the job description, earlier reviews, targets and correspondence about the barrier. Those records help determine whether the employer considered the employee's ability with accommodation or simply assessed the inaccessible arrangement as it stood.
If a show-cause notice or termination proposal arrives, answer it within the stated period or request time with reasons. Include the accommodation history, but also answer the actual allegations. A separate employment remedy may be needed depending on your role, contract and applicable law.
Do not resign or sign a release merely because HR says the company cannot employ anyone needing an adjustment. Have the exact documents reviewed. The right response may depend on whether there is a genuine role requirement, a refused reasonable measure, a disputed disability status or an independently supported employment ground.
Where can I take an unresolved discrimination complaint?
Start by ensuring that the head of the establishment has the complaint and supporting record. Rule 3(2) addresses complaints received by the head of a government establishment or a private establishment employing twenty or more persons. It requires action under the Act or a written explanation of how the challenged act or omission is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim.
The Act assigns rights-deprivation inquiry functions to the Chief Commissioner and State Commissioner according to the appropriate-government division. Check the correct jurisdiction and current filing requirements before submitting. The office for a private workplace should not be selected merely because its website is easier to use.
Prepare the request, supporting functional evidence, policy, refusal, alternatives considered and chronology. State the corrective action sought. A complaint that says only "the company is discriminatory" gives the authority less to examine than a documented refusal to make an identified adjustment.
Do not assume the Commissioner's process is identical to a civil damages suit or automatically produces reinstatement. The Act provides inquiry and recommendation functions with follow-up provisions. A separate employment challenge, urgent court relief or another remedy may require advice on the facts and the powers of the relevant forum.
How do I turn a medical recommendation into an operational request?
Translate the recommendation into the work arrangement without changing its meaning. If a clinician recommends avoiding a particular physical activity, identify which assigned tasks involve it and which remain possible. Ask whether equipment, a changed sequence or another arrangement would remove the barrier. A statement that you are "unfit for all work" should not be substituted for a narrower restriction.
For an accessible communication request, specify the recurring event. If weekly meetings use uncaptioned video and decisions are never recorded in writing, ask for captions and a written action record. Explain how that would allow you to receive the same instructions and meet the same deadlines. It is more precise than asking colleagues simply to be understanding.
For a treatment-related schedule request, state the relevant period and work implications. You may be able to propose a different start time, a particular day arrangement or a review after a treatment stage. Do not disclose more clinical detail than is needed to explain the request, but do not conceal a restriction that makes the proposed work unsafe.
Common mistake. Sending a medical note without identifying the work decision needed, then assuming silence means the adjustment is approved. Ask for a specific decision, responsible person and implementation date.
If the employer proposes a medical assessment, request its purpose, questions, recipient and how the result will be considered. Keep a copy of the information supplied. An assessment may clarify the functional issue, but the workplace still needs to decide what adjustment is appropriate. Ask that the assessment address ability with support, where relevant, rather than treating the existing inaccessible arrangement as the only possible way to perform the role.
What record should exist if the employer agrees?
Confirm the measure, start date, responsible person and any review date. Specify what happens if the adjustment fails technically or does not remove the barrier. A trial should have an intelligible purpose, not simply end without assessment because a calendar reminder expired.
Keep the practical record respectful and limited. A manager may need to know that meetings require captions, that documents must be accessible or that a particular schedule applies. They may not need the entire medical report. Ask the employer to separate implementation instructions from confidential supporting information.
At review, describe what worked and what remains difficult with examples. If circumstances change, update the request. The relevant question remains what is necessary and appropriate in the particular case without disproportionate or undue burden. An earlier arrangement may need modification rather than abandonment.
The first refusal need not be the final record. A clear request, supported by the actual work barrier and an accurate legal basis, gives the employer a decision it can make and gives a reviewing authority a decision it can examine.
Written decision
Ask for the accepted measure or refusal reasons, including the alternatives considered and the person responsible for the next action.
Working implementation
Confirm access, equipment, scheduling and support in practice. An approved measure is useful only if the employee can actually use it.
Accurate review
Record whether the barrier has been removed, what remains difficult and which modification should be assessed if the first arrangement falls short.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a private employer say disability law applies only to government jobs?
Not as a blanket answer. Some specific employment protections are government-focused, but general non-discrimination and equal opportunity policy duties also reach private establishments.
Must every adjustment request be supported by a forty-percent disability certificate?
Do not treat benchmark status as a universal condition for all accommodation rights. Coverage and supporting evidence must be assessed under the provision actually relied on.
Can I insist on permanent work from home?
No universal entitlement follows from the Act alone. Explain the functional need, job tasks and alternatives so the particular request can be assessed.
Does a company with fewer than twenty employees need a policy?
Rule 8 provides a policy duty for every establishment, with different specified content for smaller private establishments.
Can the company make me pay for reasonable accommodation?
Rule 3(4) prohibits compelling the person with disability to bear those costs. Whether a disputed item is the relevant accommodation still requires factual assessment.
Can I stop attending work while my request is pending?
Do not assume the request itself authorises absence. Seek an interim arrangement and advice if the existing conditions create a serious problem.
Will a Commissioner automatically order reinstatement?
Do not assume that remedy. The disability complaint and any separate employment challenge must be matched to the authority's powers and the facts.
What is the most useful first attachment?
A short explanation connecting the functional limitation to the work task, supported by appropriate evidence and a concrete adjustment proposal.
This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Consult a qualified advocate for advice on your specific situation.
