ADHD disability discrimination: Why I'm launching a one-stop shop for ADHD in the workplace
There's been a 31% increase in ADHD disability discrimination cases in the employment tribunal over the last year.
This should be of serious concern to employers, because:
ADHD has only been diagnosable in adults in the UK since 2008, so many are being diagnosed later in life. Prescriptions for ADHD medication are up by 800%, but NHS waiting lists can be up to 7 years long.
Disability discrimination compensation awards are uncapped - meaning employees can claim unlimited compensation as a result of discrimination towards them.
Discrimination can take place at any time, including during recruitment. However, less than a third of companies considered any disability in their D&I programmes, and 89% of HR professionals don't include, or don't know whether neurodiversity is included in their people management practices.
The duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled persons in the Equality Act 2010 is on the employer. It arises as soon as the employer knows or could reasonably be expected to know that a person is disabled (such as performance problems suggesting a disability or absence records). This places them in complex positions such as individuals not disclosing ADHD, knowing what help they need, or waiting years for diagnosis.
Although Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is linked with many valuable strengths for employers such as resilience, hyper-focusing, and cognitive thinking, it is still a 'Disorder'. To be diagnosed as an adult, symptoms must cause 'at least moderate psychological, social and/or educational or occupational impairment..' and be 'pervasive, occurring in 2 or more important settings including social, familial, educational, and/or occupational settings.'
Essentially, 2 or more areas of a person's life must be seriously negatively impacted over a long period of time: this is why not 'everyone' has ADHD. It's therefore likely to be a legally recognised disability having a 'substantial and long-term adverse effect on a person's ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities', possibly requiring workplace accommodations. Being neurodiverse in a neurotypical world can be extremely challenging.
In practice, making adjustments means more than simply referring an employee to Occupational Health or asking them what adjustments they need. They may have no idea and feel bound by these initial conversations, often had under stressful conditions.
For employers, this can be extremely challenging. There are various 'pain points' that ultimately require proactive, supportive and reassuring conversations. I'm launching a consultancy, ADHD Works, to help facilitate this support:
Pre-disclosure: as there's no obligation to disclose ADHD, this may not happen unless the workplace culture encourages people to do so, or a problem arises. This could include people considering whether to apply to an organisation, employees wondering whether they have ADHD, seeking assessments, or being diagnosed. It might arise when there's a performance issue at work, or changes, such as a new manager or new job. Employers should pre-empt and provide for these situations appropriately, such as with publicly accessible neurodiversity policies explaining any processes in detail. Having a supportive and inclusive culture means people are encouraged to be their whole selves at work, whatever that means for them.
ADHD Works can help with policy review & providing tailored organisational or individual consultations where needed.
Disclosure: which may not always happen on the 'New Starter' form, especially as existing employees may be diagnosed later. Often, there are simply no processes in place, or ones that place a duty on the individual to inform the organisation what adjustments they need. 9 times out of 10, people with ADHD may not know what support they need, especially as self-awareness is one of the executive functioning skills neurologically impacted by ADHD. Others may feel as though they don't need any support when disclosing, which could feel as though they're unable to asking for adjustments later on if needed. Many may not realise ADHD can be a disability or view it as such, so it's advisable to have neurodiversity policies making clear that support is available if needed.
ADHD Works can provide tailored workplace assessments for individuals and organisations when disclosure is made. We can provide education and initial suggestions for support, backed with ADHD expertise and lived experience.
Occupational Health: Commonly, employers will refer an employee to Occupational Health upon disclosure, but this formal process can feel degrading and stressful. For an employee with ADHD it may feel like a test, in having to 'prove' your condition is bad enough to need support at work, but that you're still able to do your job.
ADHD Works can provide tailored assessments and support employers and employees to discuss, monitor and implement Occupational Health recommendations
Identifying adjustments: as disability may feel a sensitive topic to discuss, discussions about adjustments can often be stunted instead of open, proactive and collaborative. ADHD is just part of who a person is, and often the environment can be disabling, as opposed to ADHD itself, which can feel complex and difficult to talk about. It also manifests very differently for everyone and is highly situational, so it's crucial for employers to avoid making assumptions and involve the individual in ongoing, supportive and curious discussions about what works for them.
ADHD Works facilitates sensitive discussions about ADHD in the workplace and helps individuals and organisations understand how simple changes can see extraordinary results.
Implementing adjustments: I've heard of concern about giving people with ADHD 'special treatment' that could lead colleagues to expect similar support, especially in highly-pressured industries such as law (ironically). However, reasonable adjustments require employers to treat disabled people differently to achieve equality at work: they level up the playing field. Protection from disability discrimination is not symmetrical and reverse discrimination claims by non-disabled people are not possible. What is reasonable depends on contextual factors, such as the size of an organisation, and the adjustment depends on the individual: everybody is different. It's special treatment because it's literally supporting a person to do their job in the same way as their colleagues are able to - this is why it's called a 'reasonable adjustment'.
ADHD Works provides training and education for employers and colleagues to increase ADHD awareness and support.
Employee experience: being diagnosed with ADHD as an adult can be like finding out you're a wizard - you're suddenly given a new identity to see your life through. This can be difficult to process, especially given the difficulties in accessing a diagnosis many adults may experience. They may also be medicated, which can feel overwhelming and confusing in suddenly being able to focus better, but not having the skills to put this into place. The workplace can be an uncomfortable place to figure this out!
ADHD Works provides a 12 step strategy focusing on enhancing the executive functioning skills impacted by ADHD, supporting a person with ADHD and their employer to understand and thrive with their unique brain wiring in a workplace context.
Paying for adjustments: the average cost for a reasonable adjustment is £75. Government funding is also available via Access to Work, which can pay grants in full for adjustments such as ADHD coaching and support workers. Each person can claim up to almost £60,000 each year to help pay for additional support they may need in the workplace. The scheme is currently used by less than 1% of people it could be used by, although applications can take a few months to be processed.
ADHD Works provides education and support relating to Access to Work applications and funding for adjustments.
Management: as people with ADHD have unique, interest-based nervous systems, they may need different management styles to their neurotypical colleagues, as they're motivated differently. It's vital for them to feel comfortable and supported with their manager, to understand how they can thrive in their role to reach their incredibly high potential. I'd strongly recommend managers learn about ADHD by having coaching or training and are supported by Human Resources on an ongoing basis, to ensure they feel just as comfortable and supported as the employee. If managers feel supported and secure enough to ask for help, employees they manage are more likely to feel the same.
ADHD Works provides manager training, coaching, and consultancy support to make ADHD work at work.
Reviewing adjustments: people with ADHD may find it extremely difficult to ask for help, and especially so when they've had initial 'disclosure' conversations. Adjustments need to be reviewed regularly, in a way that doesn't feel linked to performance, but focusing wholly on support. It's very important that an employee with ADHD feels safe to discuss this at work if they are struggling, otherwise they can suffer in silence until they burn out.
ADHD Works provides ad hoc support to employers and employees on an ongoing basis, by acting as an independent, confidential and supportive third party.
When there's a problem: a person's ADHD symptoms may become considerably worse with stress, due to the impact on their executive functioning skills in regulating emotions. We can easily jump to conclusions, catastrophize, and find it difficult to communicate what's happening in our brains, because we might not even understand it ourselves. This means when problems arise, such as performance issues, changes (such as having to work from home or return to the office), or personal issues, this may show up at work for a person with ADHD, requiring support tailored to that situation. It may be very easy to solve this issue, but just needs a reassuring conversation, which employers may feel unsure given the high levels of emotion involved - making everything worse!
ADHD Works provides support, mediation and dispute resolution to support and facilitate any problems arising at work related to ADHD.
The best way to make ADHD work at work is to plan ahead and spot issues early, ensuring oversight, support, and most importantly, personalization. I created ADHD Works to provide this, having coached so many people experiencing tangled messes of problems that could've been so easily resolved with a simple conversation. Having been diagnosed with ADHD myself and worked in mental health legal policy for over 2 years, I can understand and empathize with both individual and employer.
Hopefully, this consultancy will bridge the gap and not only solve the problems that can arise in relation to ADHD, but demonstrate the immense potential of harnessing it in the workplace. My clients are some of the most intelligent, passionate, creative and hardworking people I've met, and in the right environments, they've got limitless potential to give an ultra-competitive edge to any employer. Let's just remove the fear and start doing it.
Book a 1:1 ADHD Works discovery call here, follow ADHD Works here, or email hello@adhdworks.info for more.
Please share & drop me a message if you want to be involved!