Coming out / disclosing

If only every workplace was so understanding. I disclosed to my manager and nothing, nada, diddly squat! I asked why my managers had not approached me to discuss reasonable adjustments. A number of weeks later I was informed by email that my autism was long-term and therefore I should be well aware of what barriers I had at work. This caused a meltdown and I have not been back at work since. In a subsequent HR meeting my manager told me to stop rolling my eyes and making faces when she was talking. I asked for reasonable adjustments to help me and have been rejected or told that it would be too difficult to manage. Even when awareness training was funded via ATW I was told that for it to be effective then I would need to disclose before they would implement it.

This situation is over 18 months old now and still ongoing. I am effectively being managed out of my department to god knows where and what I will end up doing is slowly destroying me. This is so unhealthy for me the uncertainty is crippling. I am working from home on temporary placements and have found that I am barely functioning. it is becoming very difficult to control my anxiety and I barely leave the house.

The funniest thing about this, well you have got to laugh, is that my employer proclaims itself to be a disability confident employer and the NHS!

So whilst it is good to hear about all the positives about disclosing, my experience has been the opposite.

I say this not to moan (well a little) but to provide a balance to peoples experiences.

Mr T said:

I asked why my managers had not approached me to discuss reasonable adjustments

My understanding is that you need to be the one driving this process so you would need to work out what the reasonal adjustments were that you think you need then you ask for these - you need to own the process like you did when yo disclosed.

Mr T said:

I was informed by email that my autism was long-term and therefore I should be well aware of what barriers I had at work. This caused a meltdown and I have not been back at work since

Consider it from your employers point of view - you were surviving up to the point you disclosed then when your employer pointed out their view (ie you had not asked for adjustments so they would assume you needed none and that situation would remain as before) then you throw a hissy fit and stay off work for 18 months

To someone not familiar with autism it is entirely possible that a less sympathetic view would be this.

Mr T said:

Even when awareness training was funded via ATW I was told that for it to be effective then I would need to disclose before they would implement it.

Who is the awareness training for? If it is for all staff then the loss of working time could be a barrier for them to implement it but for just your management then it should be a no brainer.

You had already disclosed your autism so I don't understand the latter part of the sentence. Does it mean you are not diagnosed or that you did not inform HR?

It is worth noting in all of this that HRs job is to look after the need of the company and managers, not the employees so they will never really be on your side when there is any sort of conflict.

In your situation I would engage with a union (hopefully you already are a member), get a good employment solicitor with experience in disability discrimination, start keeping copies of all correspondence around this matter at home and plan for the worst (ie being fired) - its sounds very much like you need to be a lot more positive in dealing with HR and advocate better for your own needs to salvage the situation.

Good luck with the fight.

Thanks Ian.

What I posted was only a very brief synopsis of what my experience is. I had previously been under occupational health who suggested adjustments based on my health and mental wellbeing. These adjustments were never fully implemented or irregularly so. The email I referred to was the straw that broke the camels back. There had been a slow build up of pressure of various elements including nonapplication of previous adjustments. I was not asking for lavish adjustments but for a safe space for when my senses become overwhelmed, a quiet place to work and advanced rotas for when I was the duty manager.

Mine is a complex case and would take about 2hrs to tell. I have union involvement and am keeping all correspondence.

I should have said I would need to disclose to all the staff in my department before my manager will take up the awareness training for all staff. My bad.

I think I am going to need all the luck and a good lawyer.

Thanks Ian.

What I posted was only a very brief synopsis of what my experience is. I had previously been under occupational health who suggested adjustments based on my health and mental wellbeing. These adjustments were never fully implemented or irregularly so. The email I referred to was the straw that broke the camels back. There had been a slow build up of pressure of various elements including nonapplication of previous adjustments. I was not asking for lavish adjustments but for a safe space for when my senses become overwhelmed, a quiet place to work and advanced rotas for when I was the duty manager.

Mine is a complex case and would take about 2hrs to tell. I have union involvement and am keeping all correspondence.

I should have said I would need to disclose to all the staff in my department before my manager will take up the awareness training for all staff. My bad.

I think I am going to need all the luck and a good lawyer.