Your employer agreed verbally. ACAS says that's not enough.

The meeting went well. Your manager said yes to extra time for document review, written briefs before calls, and meeting notes sent in advance. You felt relieved and went back to your desk. Three months later, the written briefs stopped coming. Your manager left. The new one says she doesn't know anything about it.

This is not unusual. Verbal adjustment agreements get withdrawn, forgotten, or deprioritised when the person who made them moves on. Without a written record, you have no way to prove what was agreed. Under the Equality Act 2010, the duty to adjust still exists. Your ability to enforce it does not.

What Section 20 actually says

Section 20 of the Equality Act 2010 creates the duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled employees. Sections 20 and 21 together set out when the duty arises, what it requires, and when an employer is in breach. Neither section specifies that the adjustment must be confirmed in writing.

This matters because the duty arises from the law, not from any paperwork. You don't need a written agreement for the duty to exist. Your employer's obligation is real whether they sign anything or not. But there's a second implication: because the Act doesn't require written confirmation, many employers don't provide it. Some won't, unless you ask.

The Equality Act 2010 also places part of the burden of proof at an employment tribunal on the employee. You need to show the duty arose, that a specific adjustment was reasonable, and that your employer failed to make it. If the adjustment was only verbally agreed and your employer denies the conversation happened, you're starting from nothing.

What ACAS published in January 2025

ACAS updated its guidance on reasonable adjustments for neurodiversity in January 2025. One specific output: a reasonable adjustment confirmation letter template, available free at acas.org.uk/reasonable-adjustment-confirmation-template.

The template covers four things: the specific adjustments agreed, the date they take effect, who is responsible for each one, and the date they will be reviewed. It includes the names of both the employee and manager who agreed them. An employer can complete and send it within ten minutes of an adjustment meeting.

ACAS published this because verbal agreements get withdrawn. The template is their explicit acknowledgment that a handshake in a meeting room is not a record. Their updated neurodiversity guidance at acas.org.uk/reasonable-adjustments/adjustments-for-neurodiversity recommends that all agreed adjustments are confirmed in writing after each meeting.

ACAS guidance is not legislation. But employment tribunals treat it as the expected standard of workplace practice. An employer who doesn't follow ACAS guidance doesn't automatically lose a claim, but they need a reason for the deviation. "We do things verbally here" is not a reason that holds up under questioning.

Three ways verbal agreements disappear

Manager turnover is the most common route. The manager who agreed your adjustments knows what was discussed. Their replacement does not. Adjustments that were never written down don't transfer with the role. They exist only in the departing manager's memory, and the departing manager is no longer there.

Scope creep is subtler. "Extra time for document review" starts as 48 hours. Six months later the new manager interprets it as reviewing short emails before a call, not 200-page board reports. The adjustment has narrowed without anyone formally withdrawing it. You can't challenge that narrowing without a record of what was originally agreed.

Direct challenge is the third route. A restructure, a performance improvement plan, a new HR director. Suddenly someone needs to know exactly what adjustments are in place and when they were agreed. Without written confirmation, you're asked to reconstruct an agreement from memory. You and your employer may remember it very differently.

What an employment tribunal actually requires

A claim under Sections 20 and 21 for failure to make reasonable adjustments requires you to show three things. The employer knew or should have known about your disability. An adjustment would have removed or reduced a disadvantage. The employer failed to make it.

If your employer verbally agreed an adjustment and then quietly withdrew it, the claim is narrower: that an agreed adjustment was removed without justification. This is a claim for ongoing failure, not initial failure. To make it, you need evidence that the adjustment was in place. A written confirmation is that evidence. An email chain confirming the verbal agreement is that evidence. A text message is that evidence. A memory of a meeting, without any corroboration, is not.

ACAS early conciliation is required before any UK employment tribunal claim. During conciliation, both parties set out what they believe was agreed. Without documentation, that process becomes a direct conflict of recollections. Conciliated settlements are more likely when one party has a clear written record and the other does not.

Most dyslexic employees in the UK never reach a formal claim. They accept a reduced version of their adjustments, withdraw the request, or leave. The most common reason is the same as it is for not requesting adjustments in the first place: not knowing what options exist, or not having the evidence to use them. If you want to build a request list you can put in writing today, the reasonable adjustments builder turns your specific challenges into a draft email in about two minutes.

How to get your verbal agreement confirmed in writing

If your employer is cooperative, send them the ACAS template link after the next adjustment meeting. Ask them to complete and return it. Most HR teams will do this once they understand the template exists. Frame it as an administrative step, not a confrontation.

If your employer is reluctant or unresponsive, write the summary yourself. Email HR or your line manager within 24 hours of any adjustment meeting. Include the date, who was present, the adjustments discussed, and which were agreed. Close with: "Please let me know if I've misunderstood anything."

An employer who receives that email and doesn't reply has tacitly confirmed the agreement. An employer who disputes it in writing has created a record you can respond to. Either outcome is better than no communication at all.

Send the follow-up within 24 hours. Don't wait for the employer to move first. ACAS guidance treats written confirmation as the expected standard after any adjustment discussion. A same-day summary email is not aggressive. It's what the guidance says should happen.

If you're in the process of approaching HR for the first time, the disclosure decision guide covers how to structure that initial conversation so you have a documented starting point from the outset.

If your employer refuses to confirm anything in writing

This happens. Some employers are reluctant because a written record creates an enforceable commitment they'd rather avoid. The refusal to confirm adjustments in writing tells you something about how seriously the employer is taking the process.

If a direct request fails, escalate by email. Write to HR (not just your line manager) explaining that ACAS guidance recommends written confirmation of agreed adjustments and that you're requesting it formally. Keep a copy. If that's refused, request written clarification of which adjustments are currently in place. Any denial of what was agreed is now documented.

At that point you have a record showing three things: you requested adjustments, you requested written confirmation, and your employer declined to provide either. That record supports an ACAS early conciliation notification if nothing changes. It also supports a complaint under your employer's own disability policy, which most large employers are required to have under the Public Sector Equality Duty.

A note on route: the earlier article on telling HR or your manager first explains why disclosing directly to HR creates a stronger starting position. If you went to your manager and adjusted verbally at that level, HR may not know the adjustment exists at all. A manager change then wipes out an agreement HR never recorded. This is another reason to loop HR in by email from the start.

The call: what to do in the next 48 hours

If you have adjustments already agreed verbally, send an email today. List what was agreed, when, and who was present. Ask for written confirmation using the ACAS template. Keep a copy of everything you send.

If your adjustments are in writing but haven't been reviewed recently, check the date. Adjustments agreed 18 months ago may not reflect your current role or workload. ACAS recommends that a review date is set when adjustments are first confirmed. If yours doesn't have one, ask for a review meeting and get the outcome confirmed in writing.

If you haven't started the process yet, begin with the adjustments builder. It produces a written list of your specific challenges and the adjustments that address them, formatted as a draft email. The first written communication in any adjustments process is the most important one. Make it specific and documented from the start.

US-based readers: the ADA interactive process should be documented in writing at each stage. Your employer's obligation to engage with accommodation requests is ongoing. A written request, a written response, and written confirmation of what was agreed are the standard. The Job Accommodation Network at askjan.org provides free documentation templates and can advise on your rights.