We routinely receive distress calls from employees who have recently disclosed to their employer that they have ADHD, only to find that shortly after doing so, they are being placed on performance improvement plans (PIPs).
This begs the question about whether it is a wise thing to do to declare to an employer that you have ADHD, which in some but not all cases may be considered to be a disability for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010 protections.
There has been a tremendous amount of commentary around neurodivergence in the workplace, what it adds, how employers are keen to embrace the advantages of diverse ways of thinking, lots of virtue signalling on corporate websites and similar. But do ADHD and other neurodivergent conditions really get positive treatment in the workplace? In some, perhaps, but definitely not in all.
It is accepted that there remains a huge amount of stigma around disabilities in the workplace. When employees take time off for common mental health conditions like depression and anxiety, they often return to work to find that the tone has changed, and they no longer feel valued or welcomed. We are seeing this, too, around ADHD.
If you are asking an employer to make reasonable adjustments to accommodate your ADHD, you are going to have to tell them, or their OH department, or an HR professional, something about it. There is no requirement to make adjustments if there is no knowledge of the business of the disability or the barriers that are impeding you. This can be a bit of a rock and hard place situation. No tell, no requirement to help. Tell and will things change?
There is no right or wrong answer here. Whether in your particular work environment, declaring that you have ADHD will help or hinder you will depend on where you work and how enlightened your managers are. What’s clear is that if you do declare and things change for the worse, you should not silently accept the detrimental treatment; you should take legal advice promptly and most certainly before you make any big decisions, such as deciding to resign.
Acas has some good materials around reasonable adjustments at work for neurodiversity.
You may find the welfare pack issued by ADHD UK, which aims to help people with ADHD in the workplace.
This blog was written by Manuela de Castro, Senior Solicitor at didlaw.
