Published on 12, July, 2020
I was diagnosed 3 weeks ago with autism, something I wasn't surprised at and actually feel relieved at knowing.
I work in the civil service, always been office based, never worked from home but over the last few years I've been really struggling with the work and the environment I was in.
Currently on sick leave and spoken to manager about what I'd like going forward. I've said full time home working due to the issues I faced in the workplace (crowded, noisy, temperature too hot, no routine). I've been told that I'd have to put in a flexible working request first to leave the department then put in a reasonable adjustment request on my new team for home working.
I've explained my issue with this is if I get moved teams on the first request its to operations which is a big open plan floor with hundreds of people, I've sat there briefly last year and had to leave the building as it was too overwhelming (at this point not knowing I was autistic). If this was to happen and then my reasonable adjustment request for home working was rejected I'd be stuck in an environment far worse than the one I'm requesting to leave.
Does anyone have any pointers on what the best course of action is to request full time home working? I've read up on so many pages but again when I mention it to my manager I keep getting told 'the expectation is to be in the office 2-3 days a week as a minimum' which goes against the law which states each reasonable request should be treated on a case by case basis and not compared to other requests.
With respect to Iain, I disagree strongly with his advice. Nothing needs to have "changed physically".
Iain: "You were doing it before (in a slightly different office environment) so asking for a radical change because of the changed environment is unlikey to be accepted. Unless you can prove something has changed for you (if it has been the diagnosis then this is not a change, it is simply gaining knowledge) then they will turn it down.
With the law you quote, it id going to come down to the application of the term "reasonable" here. IF nothing has changed physically for you then they will say you are just being petulant about the new office environment and they have already offered 2-3 days to work from home - and this is likely to be accepted as being reasonable by any tribunal."
All late-diagnosed autistic people were, by definition, "doing it before" (all kinds of things, in their private and/or work lives). All of this "doing it before" will, in many cases, have come at a significant cumulative cost to those individuals. Examples may include - but be far from limited to - work performance levels, career progression (ie lack thereof), physical health issues, mental health issues, and relationship problems.
With you having been diagnosed as autistic, your employer has an undeniable legal duty to make reasonable adjustments. What is "reasonable" will vary on a case-by-case basis, just as autism does. With the benefit of those adjustments and other changes in your life, you can hopefully look forward to removing or reducing some of the negative impacts that you experience by virtue of being autistic.
Again with respect, Iain also doesn't know what "they will say" or "turn down" - in respect of either your employer or any potential tribunal.
Rather than adopting a defeatist attitude, I encourage you to approach this issue from the perspective of what adjustments you feel would be reasonable in your case, and why. Ideally with the help of expert resources, advice and/or advocacy - including via the previous links in this thread.