Guidance for employees

Be open about your long-term condition by:

• talking to your healthcare professional about any health changes you might be worried about
• being honest with your manager
• going to your manager as soon as possible with any questions or issues
• telling your manager if your health condition has changed and if you need anything different

Make work better for you by:

• improving your workspace so it is arranged to suit your needs
• adjusting the temperature and lighting
• taking regular breaks throughout the day if your job allows you to do this and especially if you work on a screen
• having ways to stay as organised as you can - this can help to reduce stress

Look after yourself by:

• prioritising your treatment and wellbeing
• eating a balanced diet and having regular meals
• making sure you have enough sleep and that it’s good quality sleep
• drinking plenty of water
• having a healthy work life balance
• moving or doing some regular physical activity
• keeping track of your symptoms regularly

Connect with others by:

• joining a patient support group in your area
• finding out what resources are offered by related charities or organisations

More information about staying well in work

NHS information pages
The NHS Self Help web page has tips, guides, tools and activities to support and improve mental health. 
NHS Self Help

Independent Age
This charity has a helpful list of long-term condition charities to contact, as well as links to services that offer emotional support.
Where to get support with a long-term condition | Independent Age

By tracking your symptoms, you can help your manager understand how your symptoms affect you. Your symptom tracker can be given to your manager before a meeting to discuss adjustments in the workplace.

Below are a few steps you could include in your symptom tracker but it’s important that it works for you. It’s okay to come up with your own symptom tracker in a format that suits you and your work.

List each symptom you have and say how it affects you by giving it a rating from 1 to 3 as follows:

1 = It bothers you a little
2 = It bothers you a medium amount
3 = It bothers you a lot

You can write more about what you feel. You can also say if something seemed to cause the symptom. Make sure you add the date so you can look back and see if things are getting better or worse over time.

Talking about your long-term condition can feel hard but your manager is there to support you. If you don’t talk to them, they will not know how your symptoms affect your work. They might not be aware you need help. It is important to meet with your manager to tell them.

It’s a good idea to prepare a list of questions and answers before your one-to-one meeting. Below are some questions to think about. Having answers to all or some of these questions will help you think about what you want to say before your meeting.

What symptoms do you have?
How do these symptoms affect your daily life at work?
How do these symptoms affect your daily life outside work?
Do you know what policies exist at work to support you?
What support or reasonable adjustments do you already have in work, and do they help?
Are there any other reasonable adjustments you think you need?
Are there changes you could make to help yourself in and out of work? 
Are there any worries or questions you want to talk about with your manager?

Your manager is there to support you and your wellbeing in work. There are also many services that can support people to thrive at work. Here are some of those services.

Trade Union support
If you are a member of a trade union, you might want to contact them. Union stewards can offer advice and can help you if you need to raise an issue at work. They can support you in a one-to-one meeting with your manager. A union may also help you get legal advice and support.
Join a union | TUC

Access to Work
Access to Work is government work support programme. It aims to help disabled people start or stay in work.
Access to Work: get support if you have a disability or health condition: What Access to Work is - GOV.UK

Citizens Advice
For general advice and links to further information.
Citizens Advice

The Equality Act
It might be helpful to learn more about the Equality Act.
Disability rights and the Equality Act 2010 - GOV.UK

Health and wellbeing passports and staff networks
If your employer has a health and wellbeing passport scheme, this might be something that can support you at work. Many organisations also have staff networks specifically for people with long-term conditions. If you’re unsure, ask your manager if your workplace has these types of support in place.

Before the meeting

1. Think about your symptoms. How do they affect your work? Creating a symptom tracker might help. See the guidance on creating a symptom tracker above.

2. Write down your challenges and the reasonable adjustments that could help.
   Remind yourself about reasonable adjustments by going to the Reasonable adjustments page.

3. Ask a union representative or supportive colleague to attend the meeting with you if this would help you.

During the meeting

1. Be honest and open and explain how your condition affects your work.

2. It’s a good idea to have a list of questions and answers you can refer to at your meeting. See the Long-term conditions questions and answers section above for some possible questions that can help you prepare for your meeting.

3. Ask about help and reasonable adjustments. Ask about changes, support and policies that could help you.

4. Make a support action plan with your manager. Agree on changes and reasonable adjustments. You’ll find guidance for developing a support action plan on the Guidance for managers page.

5. Take notes for your own records.

After the meeting

1. Wait for your manager to share the support action plan with you. This has the changes and support agreed.

2. Keep reviewing the reasonable adjustments to see if the support helps you.

3. Keep talking and tell your manager about any new problems or changes you need.

Often the changes agreed help employees manage better in the workplace. However, sometimes more changes are needed. If this is the case for you, here are some things you can do.

Speak with your manager first to discuss your challenges. See if you can problem solve these together.

Ask for a referral to Occupational Health or to speak to Human Resources. They may be able to offer more support.

Speak to your healthcare professional who may be able to offer further support for your long-term condition. They may help you to access work rehabilitation if it is available in your area.

Your healthcare professional may support you with some time off work. This may help you to recover from any worsened symptoms.

Sometimes, talking with your manager may not fix the problem. This can be very upsetting. Acas can give you clear advice about your rights at work. They can help you fix problems at work.