Hi everyone, I'm in desperate need of advice regarding My ASD and reasonable adjustments in my job

Postie93

Hi everyone.. not sure where to turn so I thought I'd ask if anyone else has had a similar experience and could offer any advice. I am diagnosed with an Autistic Spectrum Disorder and I made my employer aware of this in October 2019 when I was struggling. Employer helped by giving stability in the job on a day to day basis, as opposed  to every day being different. for the inital few months. They now take no notice. I want to get my reasonable adjustments written up in a formal manner, there are going to be massive changes at work in the next six months and im worrying every day.please help me

cupcake88

Hi there @Postie93
I would firstly put the reasonable adjustments you require into writing and give it to the owners /management if they have done it before I don’t see why they can’t do it again . If you have raised It with them in writing and your still not happy with the outcome depending on the situation I would head down the tribunal route if you feel that there’s more that your work can do if you feel that there’s no Good reason to Why they can’t make adjustments like they did before then you could Go down the legal route . 

I started legal Action against my previous employer For disability discrimination  but for many reasons Other than Not making reasonable adjustments But that was one of the reasons if you wanted to go down that route then I would contact Acas who will be able to help and advise but  hopefully it won’t come to that I really hope your employer makes the adjustments for you , let us know how you get on ? 

This is advice based on my personal experience in dealing with my past employment and taking a employer to tribunal for discrimination all tho it didn’t get to tribunal as they settled out of court . 

Sandy_123

Hi @Postie93  have a read on this link 
https://www.gov.uk/reasonable-adjustments-for-disabled-workers
Also do your work do work related individual meetings? To discuss how you are feeling and how your getting on? 
Could you ask for a meeting so you can raise concerns, maybe the company have OC  health you can be refered to. Also are you in a union? 
I had adjustments at work only minor things really, I went off sick and was refered to the company's OC  health who did a report to my company, who did do adjustments,  

Postie93

Thankyou for the link, I have already looked on there, I guess I'm not sure whether what they have done for me is a reasonable adjustment. I started work here in Jun 2019 and managed to cope being moved around, working with different people daily until October when I broke down, I couldn't cope any longer. This is when I spoke to a manager as I was in such a poor state mentally,  from then in Oct 19 I was kept in the same area, with the same person, every day to give me stability. This helped a lot. I knew what I was walking in to. I started to enjoy coming into work. Fast forward to coronavirus times, I feel like I'm back to square one and my mental health is deteriorating. I have worked weeks where I've worked with 4 different people in 5 days and this is very stressful and upsetting for me. The rota is always wrong and once again, I never know who I am going to be working with until I walk through the door in a morning. This makes me anxious, tearful, unable to think straight therefore make mistakes and the stress builds. 

I am kind of stuck in that, I firstly don't know if what they did for me was a reasonable adjustment.. I believe it is. I have not wanted to cause trouble, I have tried to be understanding with their staffing issues due to coronavirus but it's taking its toll again. We have an occupational therapy service but a referral can only be triggered by an attendance issue. Which is not helpful. I am trying to sort this out before it gets to that point.


I am part of the communication workers union, I did email their equality officer but got no response. 

I am struggling as it is but what makes it much worse is the fact there is a revision at work before May, including some managers changing etc. A big restructuring. I have the worry of this and not knowing whether I will start to be moved around again. Hence why I would like something in writing to confirm the reasonable adjustments, that I cannot cope with that.

I find it very difficult to raise my concerns with managers, which makes me mad at myself. I have to be almost tipped.over the edge and wanting to jump off a bridge before I will stop the "Yes, I'm fine thankyou" script.

I'm. Sorry if there's bits I haven't replied to I will reply to anything else tomorrow. 

Once again thanks for your replies 

Sandy_123

@Postie93 I understand that it is difficult for you to approach management, I think a lot of us are guilty of saying that were fine when we feel differently. It's ok not to be ok. 
https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/helplines/
If you don't want to speak to someone at the above link, they also offer a text service. 

Try again with the unions, you will need support from them and someone to be a go between for you and your managers. It's really hard when you don't feel happy at work. All of us hate change at work too, it's unsettling, you will find most of your colleges feel same way. 
https://www.scope.org.uk/advice-and-support/work-careers/support-with-problems-at-work/?gclid=Cj0KCQiAj9iBBhCJARIsAE9qRtDPLj52Kbzv17C9Ut3ELfCE4tiBYI4GoKltDSDlKxkP1IJJTncqDnMaAivyEALw_wcB

As cupcake said above  a letter to mananagment, as they need to know how you are feeling and coping and if you can't directly approach them, a letter will be a good start to get the ball rolling.
Also you could  talk to your gp, most consultations are on the phone now and a form filled out on line through your practice,

I really hope you can get the support you need and feel happier at work again. 

janer1967

Hi there 

The best way to get reasonable adjustments in writing is to ask to be referred for oh work based assessment and they will assess you and offer any adjustments required in writing to your employer . They then need to consider if these adjustments are reasonable 

You can also get a fit note from your gp stating under what conditions you are fit to work and any adjustments required 

I would just request a meeting to discuss of put your concerns in writing to your manager