How to comply with neurodiversity legal obligations.

As a manager, you have several legal responsibilities towards neuro-inclusion to ensure your organisation’s compliance with legislation. Employees with suspected or diagnosed neurological differences are protected by certain rights and it’s your responsibility to make sure these obligations are met.

Employees are protected whether they consider themselves disabled or not. Unlike some protected characteristics, neurodiversity is hidden and may not be immediately visible through observation or conversation.

It is paramount that managers take proactive steps to improve their people management practices, to ensure they are being as inclusive as possible.

A significant aspect of complying with the Equality Act 2010 is the provision of reasonable adjustments.

Employers have an anticipatory duty to provide reasonable adjustments, which means they must plan in advance to meet the needs of their employees (Mind, 2018)

f an employee discloses that they are, or think they may be, experiencing neurological differences, it’s important to follow appropriate steps in line with your organisation’s neurodiversity policy and the Equality Act 2010.

With a fear of discrimination and stigma being reported as one of the most common reasons for non-disclosure of neurological differences, training should be a top priority for neuro-inclusion.