Phase 5 · Write and submit

Individual requirements and reasonable adjustments

How to ask for adjustments, what ICE has said it provides, and why asking early matters.

Who this is for:Candidates at any stage

ICE says it is committed to making reasonable adjustments to the Professional Review process. The one thing you have to do is tell them, in your application, at the time you apply.

What ICE states

Institution of Civil Engineers

ICE is committed to making reasonable adjustments to accommodate specific individual requirements.
Individual requirements may include disabilities, specific learning difficulties (such as dyslexia), temporary conditions, and security clearance — or being unable to attend on a certain date or time, or to travel for an in-person review.
Each application is considered case by case. You must tell ICE about your requirements in your application form, and any evidence — such as certified documents or statements — should be submitted at the time you apply.
In line with the Equality Act 2010, ICE will make whatever reasonable adjustments are required for candidates with a disability, such as dyslexia, speech impairment or sensory loss.
Examples ICE gives of adjustments made: extra time at the different elements of the review (up to 25%); providing a scribe; providing a private room if sitting in person.
Any adjustment will not give an unfair advantage, will reflect your normal way of working, and will be based on your individual needs.
You can speak to a member of staff in confidence about your requirements by emailing professional.reviews@ice.org.uk to arrange a time to talk.

Extra time as a reasonable adjustment: 25per cent, as an example given by ICEOne example among several. Adjustments are decided case by case, must reflect your normal way of working and must not give an unfair advantage.

From Incorporated and Chartered Professional Review Guidance, Institution of Civil Engineers.

Asking

The examples ICE gives are examples, not a menu. The test they describe — that an adjustment reflects your normal way of working and does not give an unfair advantage — is the useful thing to keep in mind when working out what to ask for. If there is something you already do at work to manage a condition, that is usually a reasonable place to start.

Some things worth knowing:

The request goes in at application, on the form, with the evidence. It is not something to raise when the notification letter arrives.
Both the Professional Review and the Career Appraisal have the same provision. If your Career Appraisal needed an adjustment, apply again for the review — it does not carry across automatically.
If you would rather discuss it than write it, ICE offers a confidential conversation. Take it.
Individual requirements also cover commercial or security restrictions on what you can discuss about a project. That is not a disability question, and it belongs in the same place on the form. See security-sensitive work.
ICE also treats a specific requirement or preference for an in-person review as an individual requirement. Note that ICE's default position, on carbon grounds, is not to accept requests from candidates who would need to fly to attend.

Accessibility of this domain

This part of Queensferry is used by candidates who need adjustments, so its own accessibility is treated as a requirement rather than a final audit. Every tool works from the keyboard, timers announce their state to screen readers rather than only showing it, nothing essential is conveyed by colour alone or shown only on hover, and animation respects a reduced-motion preference. If something here is hard to use, that is a defect worth telling us about.

Requesting an adjustment

I have identified what would reflect my normal way of working.
I have stated it on the application form, in the section provided.
I have submitted any supporting evidence at the same time as the application.
If I would rather talk than write, I have emailed professional.reviews@ice.org.uk to arrange a confidential conversation.
If commercial or security restrictions limit what I can discuss, I have stated that too.
If I need an in-person review, or cannot attend on a particular date, I have said so.
I have not assumed an adjustment made for a Career Appraisal carries over to the Professional Review.

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Questions to ask yourself

What do I already do at work to manage this?
ICE's test is that an adjustment reflects your normal way of working. That is usually the best place to start when deciding what to ask for.
Have I left it until the notification letter?
The request belongs on the application form, with evidence. Raising it four weeks before the review is late.