Workplace Adjustments

Under the Equality Act 2010, employers in the UK have a legal duty to make reasonable adjustments for employees who are disabled or have a health condition that substantially affects their daily life. Many neurodivergent conditions, including ADHD, autism, dyslexia, and dyspraxia, can meet this definition, which means employers must take steps to remove or reduce workplace barriers.

Understanding your rights, knowing what adjustments to ask for, and deciding how much to disclose about your condition are all important parts of getting the support you need at work.

What the law says

The Equality Act 2010 protects people from discrimination on the basis of disability, which is defined as a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on your ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.¹ “Long-term” means the condition has lasted, or is likely to last, at least 12 months.

Neurodivergent conditions are not automatically classified as disabilities under the Act. Whether a condition meets the threshold depends on how it affects you as an individual. However, many neurodivergent people do meet the definition, particularly when the cumulative impact of their condition on daily functioning is properly considered.²

You do not need a formal diagnosis to be protected under the Equality Act. If you can demonstrate that you have an impairment that meets the statutory definition, the legal protections apply. That said, having a diagnosis or a letter from a healthcare professional describing your difficulties can make it easier to demonstrate your eligibility.²

The duty to make reasonable adjustments

When an employer knows, or could reasonably be expected to know, that an employee is disabled, they must make reasonable adjustments to prevent the employee from being placed at a substantial disadvantage compared to non-disabled colleagues.¹

What counts as “reasonable” depends on the circumstances, including the size and resources of the employer, the practicality of the adjustment, and the extent to which it would remove the disadvantage. There is no fixed list of what employers must do, but the principle is clear: where a workplace practice, physical feature, or lack of auxiliary aid puts a disabled person at a disadvantage, the employer must take steps to address it.

Failing to make reasonable adjustments is a form of discrimination under the Act, and compensation awards at tribunal are uncapped.³

Common adjustments for neurodivergent conditions

The right adjustments depend on your specific needs and your working environment. What helps one person may not help another, even if they have the same condition. The following are some of the most commonly requested and effective adjustments, organised by the type of difficulty they address.

Executive functioning and organisation

Executive functioning difficulties affect many people with ADHD, autism, and dyspraxia. Adjustments that can help include providing written instructions for tasks rather than relying on verbal communication, breaking projects into smaller steps with clear deadlines, scheduling regular check-ins with a manager, allowing the use of task management software or apps, and providing a work mentor or buddy for the initial period in a new role.

Sensory environment

Sensory differences are common across many neurodivergent conditions. Useful adjustments include providing a quiet workspace or allowing the use of noise-cancelling headphones, reducing fluorescent lighting or allowing the use of desk lamps, permitting the use of sensory tools such as fidget items, allowing flexible seating arrangements so the person can choose a less stimulating location, and providing advance notice of fire drills or other sudden environmental changes.

Communication

Communication differences can affect people with autism, ADHD, and developmental language disorder. Adjustments include providing meeting agendas in advance, allowing extra processing time before responding to questions, providing written summaries of meetings and verbal instructions, being explicit about expectations rather than relying on implied meaning, and offering alternative communication methods such as email or messaging alongside face-to-face discussion.

Flexibility and energy management

Managing energy is a significant challenge for many neurodivergent people, particularly those prone to burnout. Adjustments include flexible working hours to accommodate fluctuating energy levels, the option to work from home some or all of the time, allowing breaks to manage sensory or emotional overload, avoiding last-minute changes to schedules where possible, and reducing the expectation of attendance at non-essential social events.

Recruitment and onboarding

Adjustments should also be available during recruitment. These can include offering interview questions in advance, allowing extra time for tests or assessments, providing information about the interview format and environment beforehand, offering alternative assessment methods where standard approaches may not capture the person’s abilities, and providing a structured induction with written materials.

Deciding whether to disclose

There is no legal obligation to tell your employer about a neurodivergent condition. However, your employer can only be required to make reasonable adjustments if they know, or could reasonably be expected to know, about your disability.¹

This creates a practical dilemma. Disclosing gives you legal protection and access to adjustments, but it also involves sharing personal information in a context where not all employers respond well.

Some factors that may help you decide include the following. Disclosing is more likely to be beneficial if you need specific adjustments to do your job effectively, if your employer has a positive track record on disability and inclusion, if you have a trusted manager or HR contact, or if your performance is being affected and you want your employer to understand why.

Disclosing may feel more risky if your workplace culture is not supportive of disability or difference, if you are concerned about being treated differently or passed over for opportunities, or if you are in a probationary period.

If you do decide to disclose, you can choose how much detail to share. You do not need to provide a full medical history. A simple explanation such as “I have ADHD, which means I work best with written instructions and a quiet environment” may be enough to get the adjustments you need.

What to do if adjustments are refused

If your employer refuses to make adjustments, there are several steps you can take.

First, put your request in writing if you have not already done so. A written request creates a record and makes it harder for an employer to claim they were unaware of your needs.

Second, ask for a reason in writing. Your employer should explain why they consider the adjustment unreasonable. If the reason is not persuasive, you can challenge it.

Third, consider involving occupational health. Your employer may be willing to commission an occupational health assessment, which provides an independent professional recommendation. Employers are more likely to act on recommendations from occupational health.

Fourth, contact ACAS. ACAS provides free, impartial advice on workplace disputes and can sometimes help you reach an agreement through early conciliation without needing to go to tribunal.⁵

Fifth, if other options are exhausted, you can bring a claim to an employment tribunal for failure to make reasonable adjustments. You must normally do this within three months of the act of discrimination, and you must usually go through ACAS early conciliation first.

Employment statistics

Neurodivergent people face significant barriers to employment. In 2023-24, only 30.2% of autistic people were in employment, compared to 54.7% for all disabled people and 82.0% for non-disabled people.⁶ While specific figures for ADHD employment are less readily available, research consistently shows that people with ADHD experience higher rates of job loss, underemployment, and workplace conflict.

These statistics reflect systemic failures in how workplaces accommodate neurodivergent employees, not a lack of ability or motivation. When the right support is in place, neurodivergent employees bring valuable skills including creative thinking, pattern recognition, attention to detail, and the ability to hyperfocus on areas of interest.

Further resources

ACAS - Adjustments for neurodiversity provides practical guidance on neurodiversity-specific adjustments.

Autistic Girls Network - Reasonable adjustments at work offers a plain-English guide to the law and practical adjustments.

Centre for ADHD and Autism Support - Reasonable adjustments covers common adjustments for ADHD and autism.

Citizens Advice - Discrimination at work provides guidance on what to do if you experience discrimination.

GOV.UK - Access to Work covers additional support beyond reasonable adjustments.