Acas has updated its guidance on neurodiversity in the workplace, reinforcing the legal duty on employers to make reasonable adjustments for neurodivergent employees. The guidance highlights that neurodiversity encompasses conditions such as autism, ADHD, dyslexia, and dyspraxia, and while not all neurodivergent individuals consider themselves disabled, they may still be protected under the Equality Act. Acas reminds employers they must take proactive steps to identify and remove workplace barriers, ensuring that neurodivergent employees are not disadvantaged in recruitment, day-to-day work, or career progression. We’ll speak to an employment lawyer about what those steps might look like.
A key message from Acas is that reasonable adjustments must be tailored to individual needs. Adjustments could include offering flexible working arrangements, adapting communication methods, and providing clear instructions and expectations in a way that suits different thinking styles. Acas also encourages employers to develop a culture of openness, where neurodivergent employees feel comfortable discussing their needs. They warn against a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to adjustments and advise employers consider them on a case-by-case basis, with input from the individual concerned. We fully endorse that.
However, while Acas provides practical guidance on workplace adjustments, one area it does not specifically address is the role of technology. That’s important because technology has the potential to be a game-changer in making workplaces more accessible and inclusive.
So let’s hear more on that. Earlier I spoke to employment lawyer Amy Hextell, who has been advising clients on disability inclusion and embracing new ways of working:
Amy Hextell: “We've seen a lot of talk about disability inclusion and there's a real focus on digital inclusion, which is including things like assistive and accessible technology, but also looking at ways in which we can support employees with disabilities to engage in a new world of working. I know it's not the case for everybody, but lots of people now are working in a different way where technology is a much greater part of their day-to-day experience and for those with disabilities this can be a real benefit because it does mean that they are able to engage in the world of work in a much more straightforward manner. It' s not a panacea, absolutely. It's not a substitute for making changes to the physical world of work which are necessary. There is also a word of warning around the use of technology with those that have particular needs because it needs to be appropriate for their individual needs. So, for example, the use of captioning, or transcripts, on certain software platforms is great but actually for those that perhaps use British sign language, or those with neurodiverse conditions who struggle to process information in that way, it probably isn't removing the disadvantage that they suffer. So, there's lots of scope for technology and digital transformation to support disabled employees in the world of work but there is a word of caution around making sure that it's appropriately in place for their needs and I think that is where employers need to be putting a bit of time and effort into exploring that.”
Joe Glavina: “In recent months this subject has been getting a lot of press attention – a lot of talk about home and hybrid working and new technologies. What’s the legal imperative here for employers?”
Amy Hextell: “The reason this is particularly important at the moment for employers is because there very firmly is still a duty to make reasonable adjustments which is placed very firmly on employers. It's not incumbent on employees to be raising these issues with employers, it's a duty that the employer has to discharge when they're aware that an employee has a disability, and they are placed at a disadvantage. It's an opportunity now for employers to be meeting on an individual basis with disabled employees to understand how they're working, whether that's working well for them, whether the adjustments that are already in place are still appropriate, or whether there might be other adjustments that are necessary. Those other adjustments might be, for example, things that are associated with the use of technology. I think things have moved on so much in that space over the course of the last couple of years that there are probably things employers could, and should, be doing now to meet that legal duty to make adjustments in respect to providing software and technology solutions. So, it's a really important thing to be looking at and it's something we're talking to clients a lot about.”
Joe Glavina: “So what’s your message to employers, Amy? What should they be doing?”
Amy Hextell: “I think one of the things that employers can be doing, and part of that, is having conversations with individuals, but it's carrying out adjustment audits which are where an employer will sit down with an employee, as I said, explaining and looking at adjustments that are in place and the way that the employee is working but, perhaps, in a more methodical way, looking at what tasks the employee does, how they may disadvantage that particular disabled employee, and how they may overcome that disadvantage and what adjustments might be reasonable, or not, in the circumstances. I think another area within adjustment audits and something that employers can be doing is looking at their recruitment practices because there's lots of data and survey response out there to suggest that particularly those with neurodiverse conditions are put at a disadvantage by traditional recruitment practices and part of an audit that an employer needs to do around adjustments - because, of course, the legal duty applies not only to employees but also to potential applicants, and to potential employees - is to audit those recruitment practices to see whether there are ways in which they could be adapted to remove disadvantage that disabled people may face. So that might, for example, be forgoing the need for a formal interview, or certainly an interview in person, and instead using technology to assess whether somebody is the best person for the role.”
The updated Acas guidance is called ‘Neurodiversity and work – understanding neurodiversity’ and was published on 31 January. We’ve included a link to it in the transcript of this programme for you.
- Link to Deloitte Disability Inclusion at Work Report 2024
- Link to Acas press release
- Link to Acas guidance on neurodiversity
