This guide applies to Employment Law in England, Scotland and Wales.
If you think ADHD may be affecting you at work, you might feel unsure what your rights are or how to raise the subject with your employer. Many people do not realise that ADHD can qualify as a disability under the Equality Act 2010. If it has a long-term and substantial impact at work and you choose to disclose it, the law protects you from disability discrimination.
This guide explains what that means in practice. You'll learn how to request reasonable adjustments for ADHD at work and what you can do if your employer fails to provide the support you need.
Let’s start at the beginning: when does ADHD qualify as a disability at work? Knowing this will help you understand what protection you may have under UK employment law.
The Equality Act 2010 defines a disability as “a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on normal day-to-day activities.
Defining disability: what do 'substantial' and 'long-term' mean?
When an employee can demonstrate that their symptoms meet the thresholds of both “substantial” and “long-term”, ADHD qualifies as a disability under the Equality Act.
If ADHD affects your concentration, memory, time management or organisation at work in an adverse way, it may meet the legal test for substantial.
Employees don’t necessarily need a formal ADHD diagnosis. Instead, they need to demonstrate the impact of their symptoms. A useful way of doing this is to write a short disability impact statement, where you set out the following details:
Sample disability impact statement
[Condition and symptoms]: I have ADHD, which affects my working memory and time perception. I find it difficult to prioritise tasks without written instructions.
[How symptoms affect work]: I struggle to switch between tasks quickly and often lose track of verbal instructions given in meetings.
[Effect and length of impact]: This has led to missed deadlines and increased stress. These difficulties have been ongoing for several years.
If you choose to disclose you have ADHD, you’re not legally required to write a disability impact statement during disclosure.
However, to receive protection under the Equality Act 2010, you will need to explain the impact ADHD has on your day-to-day activities. Writing a disability impact statement is an efficient way of doing that.
Good to know
If you ever make a disability discrimination claim against your employer, you’ll be asked to write a disability impact statement as part of the Employment Tribunal process.
It’s useful to have one prepared, just in case.
If ADHD qualifies as a disability, the Equality Act protects you from disability discrimination at work. This means your employer must not do any of the following:
These protections apply from your first day of employment.
If you choose to disclose your ADHD, your employer should focus on the practical support that you might need. In most cases, that means discussing reasonable adjustments to reduce any disadvantage at work.
A formal ADHD diagnosis doesn’t change your level of protection under UK employment law.
However, you might be wondering how your diagnosis status might influence the conversations you have at work if you choose to make a disclosure. Here's what you can expect.
A diagnosis isn’t essential, but it can make it easier to show that ADHD has a substantial and long-term effect.
You can use:
If you have a diagnosis, your employer might ask for medical evidence to understand how ADHD affects your work. In some cases, they might refer you to occupational health for advice on reasonable adjustments.
The Equality Act focuses on impact. If ADHD has a substantial and long-term effect on your ability to carry out tasks at work, you can still be protected.
This applies regardless of whether you’re self-diagnosed, you have a diagnosis, or you’re on an NHS waiting list.
ADHD affects how the brain manages attention, organisation, and time.
Creativity, good problem-solving and hyper focus can be strengths that many people with ADHD bring to the workplace. However, certain tasks and responsibilities at work might also feel more difficult to manage.
ADHD often affects executive functioning, the set of mental skills we use to manage attention, plan work, and prioritise tasks.
When these skills harder to access, it can be difficult to:
Some work environments and structures can make these demands even harder to manage. For example:
If parts of your job feel harder because of ADHD, reasonable adjustments can help. Even small changes can make everyday work tasks clearer, more manageable and less draining.
ADHD disclosure is a highly personal choice. Like all protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010, disability is protected for a reason.
While disclosing a condition like ADHD strengthens your legal protection, unfortunately it can also have negative consequences. Well-meaning employers might put measures in place that don’t make things any easier for you at work. Others might cross the line into illegal disability discrimination, treating employees unfavourably because of their disability.
If you choose to disclose ADHD to your employer, you might choose to do so:
Earlier disclosure can make it easier to frame the conversation around the support you need, rather than the impact of ADHD on your performance.
After disclosing you have ADHD verbally, it’s a good idea to follow up in writing with a clear record of what you said and when. This can be important if there is disagreement later.
Your employer’s obligations begin as soon as they know – or could reasonably know – that you have a disability.
This means you can start discussing reasonable adjustments with them as soon as you’ve made your disclosure.
If ADHD affects how you work, reasonable adjustments are often the most practical way to reduce pressure and improve performance.
Reasonable adjustments are changes that employers must make to ensure workers with disabilities are not substantially disadvantaged when doing their jobs.
If ADHD makes parts of your role harder to manage, your employer should consider changes that would reduce that adverse impact. Your employer has a duty to do this as soon as possible once they know – or could reasonably be expected to know – that you have ADHD.
Reasonable adjustments for a disability might include:
The question of whether an adjustment is reasonable depends on each situation. According to ACAS, employers must consider whether a proposed adjustment would:
ACAs guidance states that employers don't have to make adjustments that are not reasonable. However, they should find other ways to support employees, including considering other adjustments that are reasonable.
Your employer is legally responsible for making – and paying for – reasonable adjustments.
For additional support, you may be able to apply for funding from Access to Work. It’s a government scheme that allows people with a physical or mental health condition or disability to apply for:
It’s important to know that Access to Work doesn’t replace your employer’s responsibility to make reasonable adjustments.
Access to Work may propose adjustments they think you need but it is up to your employer to decide if these are reasonable.
Reasonable adjustments look different in every role and organisation. They depend on a wide range of factors, including:
Here are some examples of potential reasonable adjustments for ADHD at work:
Fiona works in a fast-paced marketing role. She finds it difficult to juggle multiple deadlines at once and often feels overwhelmed when priorities shift quickly.
Reasonable adjustments to support Fiona at work might include:
These changes could help Fiona manage shifting deadlines more clearly and focus on one priority at a time.
Niels works in an open-plan office and struggles to concentrate with constant background noise.
He may benefit from the following reasonable adjustments:
These adjustments could reduce distraction and make it easier for Niels to maintain steady focus throughout the day.
Amira works as a healthcare assistant on a busy ward. She sometimes finds it difficult to retain detailed verbal information while managing multiple patients.
Adjustments to support Amira at work might include:
These changes could help Amira keep track of priorities and feel more confident about what needs to happen next.
Liam works in a large retail store where he moves between stock checks, customer support and display setup during each shift. He finds it hard to keep track of changing priorities throughout the day.
Reasonable adjustments for Liam might include:
This structure could help Liam stay on top of changing tasks and move between them with greater ease during each shift.
Asking for reasonable adjustments can feel daunting, but breaking it down into clear steps makes it more manageable.
Use the checklist below to prepare for a structured discussion with your employer. The aim is to explain the impact ADHD has on your work and agree on practical changes that support you to perform at your best.
Checklist: Preparing for a conversation
If you believe your employer is not meeting their legal obligations, you can take the following steps:
If you decide to go down the route of contacting ACAS for early conciliation, it helps to act promptly. In most cases, you have three months less one day from the act you’re challenging. The same time limit applies for lodging a Tribunal claim.
However, many disputes settle before a tribunal hearing. The prospect of a public hearing often encourages employers to engage in a more constructive discussion.
If ADHD is affecting you at work and you’re not getting the right support from your employer, Valla is here to help.
Whether your employer is refusing to engage with you on reasonable adjustments or you’re being treated unfavourably after disclosing you have ADHD, we’re here to support you every step of the way.