Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi there,
I thought I'd start here as a way of introducing myself. I'm a 25 year old woman and although I've had my diagnosis (high functioning ASD) for a few years now I've not really joined anything like this. I think it's because I was still in denial and thought that with enough camouflaging I'd be able to 'hide in plain sight' - which as I now understand is not that unusual, particularly with women and girls.
I've just been signed off from work with stress, and I think I need to ask my employer to make a reasonable adjustment to my conditions of employment (shorter working day, unambiguous description of tasks). I've only been working there for two weeks so I'm not sure how they're going to take it. Does anybody on here have any experience of asking an employer for reasonable adjustment? What did you ask for and how did it all go?
Hi, yes I did. I had a good result, and got reasonable adjustments agreed (if not all implemented!) before I got my formal NHS diagnosis. Basically I now do all meetings by webex and don't do teambuilding-type stuff.
I'm done with Christmas Cards said:Basically I now do all meetings by webex and don't do teambuilding-type stuff.
That sounds like heaven to me. You are literally my God of Reasonable Adjustments.
I only disclosed my Asperger's to my first employer, which came a few weeks after I was diagnosed, and they asked me loads of questions that I couldn't answer because I was still in the early stages of reprocessing my whole life. Having burned out yet again, I now realise I need to start declaring it and asking for adjustments like the ones you mention here. Are there any other adjustments you have? I think primarily communicating by email, working from home etc., would also help me enormously.
That's quite shocking and I wonder if what they are doing is actually legal? I would think you have a very good case for challenging what they are saying.
As far as I understand, the Equalities Act obliges businesses to make adjustments but only if they are reasonable i.e. the impact on them is reasonable. If they state that it's not, they would have to explain why and if an independent opinion (judge? tribunal?) agreed then they simply wouldn't be obliged to do them. To suggest that you resign seems wrong?
This is all really interesting to read. I received an email from my employer yesterday (I'm signed off sick so should they be contacting me at all?) basically saying it would be better for me to resign as they can't afford to make reasonable adjustments that I would need to stay healthy. I don't see how reducing my hours or arranging for me to do a jobshare costs them much, if anything at all! They are a private school charging god knows how much per term- it's a drop in the ocean really.
What really annoys me is that it is a school designed around the needs of pupils with additional needs, ASD included. It is hypocritical to state that they are inclusive and individual when they can't make simple adjustments so an employee with ASD (and a lot of experience working with such children) is denied an opportunity to work for them. People only seem to want to acknowledge and exploit my strengths and not support me through my weaknesses.
Thank you all so much for your advice, experience and examples - It's given me hope where I was thinking I was limited to a life working casual, low paid jobs that I am frankly overqualified for.
That's about it really, and for me underlines the point that reasonable adjustments that are needed are often not really as big an ask of an employer as we might imagine. Once my management understood that I work better at my desk than in meeting rooms and that not everything I'm good at is good for my mental health, it was all quite straightforward. The biggest stress for me was daring to ask, because everyday expectations and norms are very reasonable for most people and that is so easy for us to internalise (over many decades!) and interpret *our* needs as *un*reasonable, when actually, they are *reasonable*.
Everyone knows now that I prefer a webex and advance notice to discuss whatever topic, and it works well. In fact, others have said that because of me they have come to appreciate just how much can be achieved in a Webex without needing to travel, so I've actually contributed to the efficiency and green credentials of the team!
For unrelated reasons I now have my own single-occupancy office, so I no longer have to cope with an open plan office that was literally like trying to do complex analysis work in a busy pub on a Friday night. But that does make me wonder why I daily burn fossil fuel to leave one quiet space (home) and drive to another one (work). So I'm kind of thinking that permanent home-working might be a longer term goal.
God of Reasonable Adjustments :-) thanks.