Sharp increase in neurodiversity claims lead companies to seek legal assistance

Financial Times

At the end of last year, when most companies were winding down for the holidays, London employment lawyer Darren Isaacs found himself surprisingly busy. New enquiries kept coming in from businesses struggling with the same issue: when managers had raised concerns about employees’ performance, the staff members disclosed neurodiverse conditions that might help explain the problem.

All the cases shared similar traits — employees were mentioning conditions such as autism and ADHD for the first time once they had been put on some form of performance management plan or were facing dismissal, and none of them could support their claims with a diagnosis.

“The crossover between employee privacy, performance management, and managing any neurodivergent condition is always complicated to navigate for both employees and employers,” says Isaacs, a partner at GQ|Littler. “It is always difficult when an employee only raises this partway through a management process rather than earlier on.”

“When employers are properly aware of an employee’s neurodivergent background, thought can be given as to how that can best work for the individual and the workplace, and what support may be required,” says Isaacs, the employment lawyer. “Often, the discussion is left far too late.”