# Inclusive Recruitment and Reasonable Adjustments: practice workbook
Talent Engineering Academy | An education initiative by Vitae
Edition 2026.09 | Updated 2026-09-24
Course: https://talentengineering.org/courses/inclusive-recruitment

Identify avoidable barriers and build a practical, confidential route for accessible participation.

## Your deliverable
A barrier audit and adjustment-handling workflow.

Use fictional information. Keep your completed work in your own secure notes. Exercises and capstone work are self-directed, not independently assessed.

## 1. Journey stage and potential barrier

Your notes:



## 2. Essential capability versus assessment method

Your notes:



## 3. Candidate request route

Your notes:



## 4. Adjustment owner and confidentiality

Your notes:



## 5. Implementation and confirmation

Your notes:



## 6. Feedback and unresolved issues

Your notes:



## Lesson exercises

### 1. Separate essential work from avoidable barriers

Audit five steps in a fictional application journey and distinguish essential demands from process barriers.

Your response:


Worked example: A role needs accurate written incident reports, but an application form times out quickly and cannot save drafts. The time limit measures the form’s inconvenience rather than the essential writing capability.

Self-review guidance: For each barrier, identify the capability actually being assessed and a possible accessible route. Do not remove legitimate job requirements without analysis, and do not defend an unnecessary obstacle simply because it is standard.

### 2. Create a clear request and response route

Write an adjustment request workflow with acknowledgement, clarification, decision and confirmation.

Your response:


Worked example: A candidate requests captions and additional preparation information. One coordinator agrees the arrangements, checks the platform and briefs the panel on the practical setup without circulating private medical details.

Self-review guidance: Name an owner and fallback contact. Limit access to sensitive information. Include a check before the event so an agreed adjustment is actually available, not merely noted in the ATS.

### 3. Adapt the method while preserving the criterion

Adapt a fictional interview task in two ways and explain what remains constant.

Your response:


Worked example: A candidate provides a written planning response before a discussion rather than being judged on rapid unsignalled presentation. The panel still assesses planning quality and the ability to explain decisions, using the same job-related anchors.

Self-review guidance: Name the capability, the changed method and how evidence will be scored. Avoid awarding or deducting points because an adjustment was used. Seek specialist advice where measurement comparability is uncertain.

### 4. Review access and candidate experience

Create an access review with three service measures and a supplier escalation example.

Your response:


Worked example: Two candidates report that the assessment link cannot be navigated by keyboard. The owner pauses that method, arranges an alternative and raises a supplier issue rather than asking each candidate to find a workaround.

Self-review guidance: Measure response and implementation quality without exposing personal circumstances. Identify who can pause an inaccessible step and how affected candidates receive an equivalent opportunity.

## Portfolio review
Check that your work is internally consistent, distinguishes facts from assumptions, names decision owners and explains its limitations. Revise gaps before using the method in real work.

## Further reading
- [GOV.UK: Discrimination in recruitment](https://www.gov.uk/employer-preventing-discrimination/recruitment): UK legal context. Obtain advice for your jurisdiction and circumstances.
- [W3C: Web Content Accessibility Guidelines](https://www.w3.org/WAI/standards-guidelines/wcag/): Technical accessibility background for digital recruitment services.
- [CIPD: Selection methods](https://www.cipd.org/uk/knowledge/factsheets/selection-factsheet/): Professional context for selection methods and their limitations.

Original educational scenarios. References provide further reading and do not imply endorsement. Check current official rules and appropriate professional advice for real legal, financial or regulated decisions.