One of your staff members is going on a training course next week. They need a reasonable adjustment. But they haven’t told you.
This is common when the issue is not immediately apparent: anxiety disorders, depression, mental health conditions. During Mental Health Awareness Weeks (5–18 October 2026), here’s a useful reminder for HR managers and training managers: the disability liaison officer at your training organisation can help put your mind at ease.
📌 Key points to remember
- A mental health condition is a disability in the eyes of the law, even if it is not visible.
- Employers must enable employees with disabilities to undertake training tailored to their needs.
- Employees are not required to disclose their diagnosis: the only thing that matters is the need for reasonable adjustments.
- The disability liaison officer at the training organisation identifies this need in advance, in complete confidence, and tailors the training programme with you.
Handicap: what are the rules?
“80 per cent of disabilities are invisible”, notes the Ifop x Agefiph 2025 survey, echoing the message of European Disability Employment Week. In France, 13 million people experience a mental health condition every year. Mental health is, in fact, a major national cause in 2025 and 2026.
However, 34 per cent of employees say they are not prepared to work with someone with a mental disability. Many therefore prefer to remain silent and find the training a struggle.
The legal framework is, however, clear:
- Article L114 of the Social Action and Families Code includes impairment of mental functions in the definition of disability;
- Article L5213-6 of the Labour Code requires employers to take “appropriate measures” to ensure that suitable training is provided;
- Qualiopi indicator 26 requires training organisations to mobilise “the necessary expertise, tools and networks” to accommodate people with disabilities.
The disability liaison officer: anticipating, adapting, coordinating
It is he who turns these requirements into a training programme that works.
- Anticipate: he assesses needs before the training begins, in complete confidence. The assessment remains confidential.
- Adapt: he adjusts the pace (breaks, half-days), the materials (sent in advance, written instructions) and the delivery methods (remote learning, small groups, alternatives to role-play).
- Coordinating: he works with you and with your in-house disability liaison officer, who is mandatory for organisations with 250 or more employees.
For HR, there’s just one thing to do: ask “Do you require any reasonable adjustments?” as soon as registration takes place, pass on the requirement, but never the assessment, and then forward this to the organisation’s disability liaison officer in advance.
At Groupe DMM, training is tailored to the individual
At Groupe DMM, this role is fulfilled by Sophie Guillon, our Head of Learning. She designs and tailors the learning pathways. This reflects our Human First philosophy: training must adapt to people, not the other way round.
Shall we discuss this?
