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Reasonable adjustments at work

Bakedbean28

Hello all,

I posted a little while ago about struggling with undiagnosed autism following on from a potential meltdown at work about a month ago

I just received an OH report that I have underlying traits evidenced from childhood and adulthood with the support of friends and family, and scored 100% on the initial NICE assessment 

The doctor has recommended some reasonable adjustments to my employer:

Ensure that XX has a clear understanding of any relevant behaviours and professional boundaries that are expected, both in the context of these recent events and in terms of general interactions in the workplace.

Support XX with an Access to Work application for coaching and mentoring with managing underlying autism in work.

In collaboration with an appropriate manager, develop a Wellness Action Plan to identify triggers for emotional difficulties and communication in the workplace and actions that can be taken in situations where this may arise.

Arrange neurodiversity training and education for the wider team, to improve understanding of how autism and similar conditions may influence an employee’s behaviour in the workplace. 

Can I just get some feedback on how to approach my employer regarding this? Would an employer get in legal/discrimination territory if these aren't considered or addressed? As a note they are disability confident level 3

Thank you

  • Is your OH report automatically shared with your employer/manager? If not, share your report with them and put it in writing than you are requesting the adjustments outlined in the OH report. 
    The adjustments mentioned seem entirely reasonable, and there should be no reason that they don’t get agreed. However, an OH report can only make recommendations to the employer and it’s down to the employer to determine what is reasonable. 

    An employee can raise an employment tribunal claim if their employer doesn’t make reasonable adjustments. It is the down to the tribunal to then determine if the employer has discriminated for not making reasonable adjustments. I have taken my employer to employment tribunal for issues around reasonable adjustments, and the process is very stressful. Whilst I would encourage people to stand up for their rights, I would warn that you really need to be prepared for a lot of hassle. I hope you won’t find yourself in that situation though and you get the adjustments. 

  • in reply to Iain

    Just to clarify, those adjustments are from Occupational health health

  • Bakedbean28 said:
    Would an employer get in legal/discrimination territory if these aren't considered or addressed?

    They would get into trouble only if they can argue that your specific needs are not reasonable. For example if you needed subdued lighting but that involved changing hundreds of light fixtures or bulbs then this would not be considered reasonable.

    The Disability Confident level is something hard to prove on paper and I think many companies claim this just for the credibility it lends them.

    I need to be careful how I phrase this as I have had NAS ask me to edit my posts before where they are considered as advice so I will only say what my actions would be if I were in your situation (you need you form your own decisions).

    I would work out what I specifically need changed in my workplace to make my ability to work effective. My choices would be to have procedures documented in detail and have a chance to review them before agreeing to them. I have found colleagues make many assumptions in writing procedures so a review means I can spot the areas they gloss over and get them to fill them in.

    I would also ask for things around agreed behaviours to be given in writing as I find management often try purposfully to avoid this and then trip me up with what they claimed they said. I keep things in writing and always keep copies sent to my personal email for proof.

    This is just my approach of course.

    It will be interesting to hear how the team neurodiversity training works - please let us know if you find any significant change.

    Lastly I would give some explicit advice as everything so far seems to be coming from your employer - I would recommend getting a psychotherapist who has a track record of helping other autists to run through a number of sessions with you to help you cope in the workplace. The skills you learn here are valuable in other aspects of your life so it is a worthwhile investment and something to show to your manager to demonstrate you are making this a two way process.

    Good luck with all this.