Reasonable adjustments and Covid

The Equality Act 2010 can, in certain circumstances, require employers to make changes that ensure that anyone with a health issue, disability or other condition can do your job as well as your colleagues.

These changes are referred to as “reasonable adjustments” and you may be entitled to one if you find that, as a result of being neurodivergent, you are “substantially disadvantaged” by one or more of the following:

  1. a rule, practice or other working arrangement, such as not having an allocated desk; .
  2. a physical feature of your workplace – for example, bright overhead lighting or a desk that faces the back of a room; or
  3. not having extra equipment or help, such as a career coach or a desk lamp.

Importantly, your employer must pay for these adjustments. You should not have to contribute to their cost

What does substantial disadvantage mean? 

“Substantial disadvantage” is defined by the Equality Act  as “more than minor or trivial”.

As a result, this isn’t likely to cover a scenario where a task takes you a few minutes longer than your colleagues. If however you find that you are constantly falling behind, feel excluded or that your working environment makes it difficult for you to focus this is likely to constitute a “substantial disadvantage.”

Do I have to tell my employer I am autistic to get reasonable adjustments? 

An employer will only be expected to make reasonable adjustment for you if it knows, or reasonably ought to know that:

  1. you are disabled (for the purposes of the law); and
  2. you are experiencing a substantial disadvantage (see above).