skip to main content

Acas Updates its Disability Guidance

Public body Acas has updated its disability guidance to provide clear advice on how to support disabled people at work.

Published: 16 May 2022 | 10:00 AM Updated: 17 May 2022 | 3:03 PM
Bright blue sky with a white sign post showing three arrows saying help, guidance, support and advice in different directions.
Acas provides free and impartial advice to employers, employees and their representatives on a range of topics. Image credit: Shutterstock.

Acas (the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) provides free and impartial advice to employers, employees and their representatives on a range of topics including; employment rights, best practice and policies and resolving workplace conflict.

Its new and updated disability guidance covers:

  • Talking about disability at work
  • How an employer should support disabled people
  • Managing a disability that gets worse over time
  • Disability-related absence
  • Capability and performance when someone is disabled
  • More support for managing disability at work

You can view the full guidance pack via the official Acas guidance page.

About Acas

Acas works with millions of employers and employees every year to improve workplace relationships. It is an independent public body that receives funding from the government.

MU support

You can read more about Disabled Musicians' Rights via our dedicated information page. It covers; mental health and discrimination, pre-employment questions, reasonable adjustments, access to work grants, access riders for musicians and more.

The information is designed to provide musicians with information about your rights at work, as set out under the Equality Act 2010.

Representing and advocating on behalf of disabled musicians

At the MU we advocate on behalf of disabled and/or neurodivergent musicians to ensure their rights are upheld and strengthened – where they encounter discrimination, we’ll challenge it.  

Join our Disabled Member Network

The Disabled Members Network is a space for MU members who identify as disabled and/or neurodivergent to meet and discuss issues that impact their communities, shape MU policy, and change the music industry and the MU for the better.

Join the Disabled Member Network

Representing and advocating on behalf of disabled musicians

Continue reading

13 members of the Board gathered in front of some stairs.

MU Joins Newcastle Gateshead Music City Strategic Board

The MU has joined the new Newcastle Gateshead Music City Strategic Board alongside artists, venues, labels, media professionals, academics and industry experts. The Board will help shape the future of the region’s music sector and support long-term growth across the local music ecosystem.

Published: 11 May 2026

Read more about MU Joins Newcastle Gateshead Music City Strategic Board
The panellists sat on the stage with microphones, in front of a screen with saying

MU Panel Explores Rates, Rights and Royalties at Sound City 2026

At Liverpool Sound City Conference 2026, the MU brought together industry professionals and working musicians for its ‘Money in the Mix’ panel to demystify these issues and offer practical insights into building a sustainable career in session work.

Published: 11 May 2026

Read more about MU Panel Explores Rates, Rights and Royalties at Sound City 2026
Chapman sat in front of a piano, talking to Claudia Winkleman on set for Channel Four’s show The Piano.

Why So Few Disabled Professional Musicians: The Barriers Built Into UK Music Education

Why are disabled musicians still so rarely seen in the UK’s conservatoires, orchestras and freelance workforce? For Chun, the parent of accomplished young MU member Chapman, the answer lies not in a lack of talent, but in post-16 structures that continue to close doors on disabled progression.

Published: 08 May 2026

Read more about Why So Few Disabled Professional Musicians: The Barriers Built Into UK Music Education
Marcelo and another busker in yellow M U campaign t-shirts holding pink cut out guitars at a demo last August.

Protecting Amplification in Busking

One year on from the Leicester Square busking ban, MU member Marcelo Cervone reflects on how amplification shapes public space, challenges misconceptions on busking volume and makes the case for protecting performers’ pitches.

Published: 08 May 2026

Read more about Protecting Amplification in Busking