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I am struggling at work which is affecting my mental health and well being

Caz12

Hi all

I am new ..

Feel very isolated at the moment and struggling with this.

My line managers really dont understand autism and struggles and very "black and white" in their vocabulary,  challenges and expectations.

They are pressuring me to do tasks I cannot do, including be within busy environments squashed in with others to work and working beyond my hours on tasks that are not clear or unsafe.

My reasonable adjustments uave not been signed off and this feels like they are hanging this over me and almost dismissing it

Is others having similar experiences? Anyone been through this and challenged this?

Thankyou for reading 

  • Hi and welcome.

    Sadly, this is the case for many autists asking for reasonable adjustments. Employers often view them as perks or asking to be treated differently. They see it as an outlier and causing problems for them to manage. It is not fair, it is illegal. The law is supposed to be on your side but in reality you need solid evidence and be prepared to either challenge them yourself via a grievance and employment tribunal. if you have a union they may help but be prepared for the unions' legal teams to not want to take your case forward. If you have home insurance you may be covered but they will look for any loopholes to get out of covering you. There is a website called valla, which is set up to provide all the information you need to be able to take on the case yourself. It is a wealth of knowledge regarding employment tribunal processes.  

    I speak from experience after over 30 years with the same public sector employer, my career was ended. I am now in the final weeks before my tribunal date and this has been expensive in terms of legal fees.

    I wish I could be more encouraging but my experience it is a hard slog emotionally.

    You are not alone I have met very few who have had a positive experience disclosing and getting reasonable adjustments.

  • Hi,

    I'm really sorry to hear that. You're not alone in this- many of us face the same things in our daily lives. 

    First of all, I need to stress very heavily at this point that what you are being forced to do isn't just 'ok'- this taken together could cross a line into a breach of the Equality Act. Reasonable adjustements are't optional- they are a legal requirement for workplaces. 

    Could you tell me more about what happened, so I can give better advice? I had the same problems in my university (which at one point resulted in the university breaking the law on two separate occassions, I made a Subject Access Request, saw that and my university began offering compensation the moment it became clear whose side the Office of the Independent Adjudicator would take). 

    And yes, I do face this in my daily life because no-one understands me- you're absolutely not alone in this. I'm usually expected to 'understand' and 'get' things both in my family and my university, and, when that is not satisfied, I become the root cause of all evil in the world. Most recently at the beginning of this week when my mother said financially I can go to Cambridge for a PhD because we live there and she can handle it without funding, I rejected Oxford (which was funded), and she exploded and abused me for half a week because of it. 

    You're not isolated- all of us face the same things. You're absolutely not alone in this. 

  • Hi and welcome to the community. I'm sorry to hear that you are having these problems with your employer, it must be quite distressing.

    Here is an NAS article about adjustments at work which may be of help:

    https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/employment/what-are-reasonable-adjustments-and-when-can-they

    I hope things improve soon.