What should employers do to support neurodivergent employees?

Neurodiversity Celebration Week, which took place recently, is an initiative designed to tackle stereotypes and misconceptions surrounding neurodevelopmental disorders and learning disabilities and presents employers with the opportunity to contemplate strategies for fostering a more inclusive work environment.

By accommodating the needs of neurodivergent employees, businesses can enhance inclusivity and support diversity within their workforce.

What is meant by neurodiversity?

Neurodiversity refers to differences and variations in brain function and how individuals process information. Common types of neurodivergence include ADHD, autism, dyslexia, and dyspraxia.

According to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, an estimated 1 in 5 people identify as neurodivergent in some way.

This statistic highlights the importance for employers to recognise and accommodate the diverse needs and characteristics of their workforce, particularly as many employees can try to mask their condition at work to fit in. This can cause a significant strain on employees’ mental health as it can make them feel exhausted and isolated.

Disability Discrimination

Neurodivergence can be considered a disability under the Equality Act 2010 if it is a significant and long-term impairment affecting daily activities.

Employers have a legal duty not to discriminate because of an employee’s disability and to make reasonable adjustments.

The modern workplace is not always designed to suit neurodiverse employees and therefore additional care needs to be taken to create an inclusive environment.

Steps that can be taken to promote an inclusive working environment include:

• Culture: Focus on creating an open and supportive environment where people speak openly about neurodiversity and people feel comfortable.
• Communication: Maintain open dialogue between employees and adjust language and approaches as necessary. Facilitate opportunities to receive feedback to make further changes if needed. This can also be covered in up-to-date policies and procedures, that are easily accessible by all staff.
• Flexibility: Where appropriate, be flexible with work location, working hours, and tasks. Ensure requests for reasonable adjustment are dealt with promptly, this includes providing additional support if an employee struggles with a particular task or element of their role.
• Empowerment: Use appropriate language when discussing neurodiversity. Neurodiverse employees may not consider themselves as having a condition, much less a disability. For example, ACAS recommends using identify-first language such as someone ‘is autistic’ rather than ‘has autism’.
• Education: Raise awareness among staff through training. Create a Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) committee to foster community development. Include a neuro-inclusion policy within your D&I policy to show your commitment to inclusivity.

Comment

It is essential for employers to consistently evaluate and determine appropriate measures to support neurodivergent employees. Leadership from senior management is crucial in fostering cultural change within an organisation.

For more information on this subject, or in house training options to managers and staff on neurodiversity in the workplace, get in touch with the team.

Should you have any questions regarding the new statutory rates and their application, please do not hesitate to reach out to a member of our team.