Reasonable adjustments for ADHD at work: a guide for employees and employers

Reasonable adjustments in brief

Under the Equality Act 2010, employers must make reasonable adjustments so that workers with a disability, or with a physical or mental health condition, are not substantially disadvantaged when doing their jobs. The adjustments are worked out for the person: what helps one colleague with ADHD may not help another.

The employer pays for them, and most are simple and cheap: a quieter desk, written notes after a meeting, reminders, a regular check-in, a change to working hours. Where a person needs support that goes beyond what is reasonable for the employer to provide, the government's Access to Work scheme can help pay for it.

Who the duty covers

The duty covers all workers, including employees, trainees, apprentices, contract workers and business partners. Acas adds contractors and self-employed people hired to do the work personally. It also covers job applicants: adjustments can be asked for at any stage of recruitment, for example extra time in a written test or a change to how an interview is run.

The Equality Act applies in England, Scotland and Wales. It does not apply in Northern Ireland, which has its own law.

ADHD and the legal meaning of disability

A person is disabled under the Act if they have a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. Each part has a set meaning:

• Substantial means more than minor or trivial.
• Long-term means the effect has lasted, or is likely to last, at least 12 months, or for the rest of the person's life. An effect that comes and goes counts if it is likely to recur.
• Day-to-day activities include taking part fully and effectively in working life on an equal basis with other workers. This was written into the Act from 1 January 2024.
• Treatment is set aside. If medication or another treatment controls the effects, the question is what the effects would be without it.

Acas, the government's workplace advisory service, says being neurodivergent "will often amount to a disability under the Equality Act 2010", and names ADHD as one of the best-known types. Whether it does for a particular person depends on the effects on them, judged as above.

No diagnosis is needed. Acas says a worker does not need a diagnosis to be considered disabled, and that an employer should offer support, including reasonable adjustments, whether or not there is one.

Telling the employer. Nobody has to tell their employer that they are disabled. But the duty applies once the employer knows, or could reasonably be expected to know, about the disability and the disadvantage it causes. That is why a request is best put in writing: it is the clearest record that the employer was told.

The duty in plain words

The Act sets out three requirements. An employer must take reasonable steps to avoid a substantial disadvantage caused by:

• the way things are done, such as a policy, a working pattern or a way of giving instructions;
• a physical feature of the workplace;
• the lack of an extra aid or service, such as a piece of equipment, software or a support worker.

Where the disadvantage is about information, the steps include giving it in an accessible format. Failing to make a reasonable adjustment is itself disability discrimination.

What makes an adjustment reasonable. The Act gives no list. Acas suggests an employer consider whether the adjustment will remove or reduce the disadvantage, whether it is practical, whether it is affordable, and whether it could harm the health and safety of others. An employer does not have to change the basic nature of the job, but if an adjustment is not reasonable it should still look for other ways to support the person.

Examples of reasonable adjustments for ADHD at work

These come from Acas and gov.uk guidance. They are starting points: the right set is agreed with the person, tried, and reviewed.

Attention and distraction

• a quiet place to work, away from distractions, or a private space to go to;
• noise-cancelling headphones, ear defenders or earplugs;
• regular breaks through the day;
• a standing desk or fidget toys. Acas's example is a call-centre worker with ADHD who uses a standing desk to work off energy and improve focus;
• a fixed desk instead of hot-desking (gov.uk's example is someone with social anxiety disorder, but the same change can help with distraction).

Memory and organisation

• extra reminders;
• planners that show deadlines and appointments clearly;
• one-to-one support to help prioritise work;
• extra or adapted equipment, including computer software and phones;
• software that supports reading or writing, such as a screen reader or a speech-to-text programme.

Time and planning

• regular check-ins on how work is going. Acas's example is a worker who is dyspraxic and has ADHD, with a colour-coded wall planner and a 10-minute check-in with their manager each morning;
• breaking work into smaller tasks;
• extra time to plan work;
• sharing work differently within a team.

Meetings and instructions

• instructions broken down into clear steps, with written backup;
• talking through written information;
• extra time to read information and complete tasks;
• emails and documents in an accessible format;
• shorter summaries of the main tasks alongside long documents.

Communication and change

• early warning of changes at work, and extra time to take them in;
• using the person's strengths, for example client work for someone with strong verbal skills;
• colleagues doing what is needed for the adjustment to work.

The work environment

• different lighting at the desk, or screen filters to reduce brightness;
• a different layout of the work area.

Working patterns

• changed working hours or patterns, or breaks spread more evenly across the day;
• flexible working, including home or hybrid working;
• different responsibilities, or another suitable role;
• time off for medical appointments.

Recruitment and training

• more time for written or reading tests in an interview;
• a different way to train someone who finds classroom training hard.

Flexible working is also a separate right: any employee can ask for it from their first day, and an employer can refuse for a good business reason. A disabled person can also ask for different hours as a reasonable adjustment.

Adjustments for memory problems after a brain injury, stroke, long Covid or MS

The same test applies whatever the cause: what matters is the effect on the person. A few rules differ by condition:

• Multiple sclerosis counts as a disability from the day of diagnosis, as do cancer and HIV infection.
• Long Covid can be a disability depending on how the person is affected. Acas advises employers to focus on the adjustments they can make rather than on whether the condition is a disability.
• A brain injury or a stroke is judged by its effects, like any other impairment.

The memory, organisation and meeting adjustments above apply here too. gov.uk adds a phased return to work, with flexible hours or part-time working, for employees who become disabled. More on returning to work after a brain injury, long Covid and memory and cognitive changes in MS, and on Access to Work support for memory problems.