Hi, I'm new here (I live in England).I was diagnosed with ADHD six months ago, but I had voiced my concerns of struggling at work in the months prior. Before and after my diagnosis my employer has refused my hybrid working request without discussion. I work in a very busy, noisy environment and my performance and mental health were suffering as a result. After waiting 10 weeks, and following me lodging a grievance, I was provided with a 'partition screen' which is actually a paper hospital curtain! The purpose of it is to minimise interruption and disturbance, but it does neither of these things and instead attracts unwanted banter.
This week I was told that my department are being made redundant, as we are not making enough sales. I should point out that my department is myself and my jobshare colleague, who has been largely absent for months due to chemotherapy.
I feel so angry that this situation has been allowed to happen. I believe that they had intended this redundancy for a long time, and that's why no real support was provided. I want to fight this, but there's no way that I have the strength (and concentration!) needed to represent myself. Does anyone have real life experience of legally challenging their employer? Or any real advice?
Thanks.
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Pizza4life
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-speak to HR if they aren't already involved regarding the refusal and get copies of any relevant policies from them
They are supposed to help you. I had similar issues at my place of work but they were making a third of us redundant around the time I was diagnosed so took the money and left and had the Access to Work assessment too.
Thanks for your reply. Unfortunately unions won't provide representation for matters that arose before you join. I took your advice and have applied for an Access to Work assessment. I stupidly thought that this was something that the employer applied for. Hopefully I can get this before I leave!
I work for a small organisation that uses an external HR company. They were pretty useless during my grievance. But I do have copies of all the relevant policies. I'm seeking legal advice, but it's all so complicated and very expensive.
I have researched accommodations and discussed it very briefly with my supervisor at work but was able to work a slightly earlier schedule without seeking any official accommodation for now but I know I will have to in order to stay much longer but putting it off like everything else. One of the best resources that I have found and use is askjan.org.
—You can check out the page with ADHD specifics here:
Thanks April. I live and work in the UK, but a lot of the guidance is very similar. One of the top recommendations for ADHD employees is working from home, its a no brainer.Thanks for your well wishes.
can you go to your boss’ boss with your concern, or maybe HR? In the United States, we have ADA, and basically makes an iep for our work conditions. Although it helped a bit, I still have a toxic boss too.
It's an external HR company, and they're only interested in protecting their 'client'. I've jumped through a lot of hoops already, and keep getting fobbed off.
Yes, this behavior is all too familiar. I wish there was some better guidance I could give or encouraging words I could share, but unfortunately in my experience the Law in this is little more than a suggestion. All I can say would be to document EVERYTHING. Keep records of each interaction you have with your employer and remember that the one thing you can always count on is that when someone is an abuser they will always be an abuser.
Hello! I was a public school teacher for 30 years until I basically gave up and was able to retire with a pension. I was diagnosed in my later 40s with ADHD. The diagnosis was invaluable to me as it validated all of the struggles I had had over the years trying to keep up with my colleagues. About nine years before I retired, after being hounded and harassed by two different administrators at two different schools about compliance with trivial, assigned tasks, my mental health was in such a state that I had to take a leave of absence without pay, which put considerable financial burden on my family. I filed a disability claim. I was denied so I hired a lawyer who asked for $1000 retainer from me and was hardly heard from again. I went to a different lawyer who listened to me and empathized with my situation. He asked for no retainer and settled my disability claim out of court with the insurance company. It was the most validation I had ever received about my competence as a teacher. The victory changed my life and gave me the confidence to push back against unreasonable demands. I still didn’t receive any accommodations but the validation made it easier to deal with the demands of the job. It is heart wrenching to read your story and the others like it because I can empathize strongly with you. I hope my story inspires a bit of hope.
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