Transcript: Adjustments and reasonable accommodations

Introduction

Welcome, everyone. Good to see you all here for this month’s neurodiversity chat. As always, this call is open to everyone: neurodivergent or not, whether you’re here to share or here to listen.

We’ve got a slightly different format today. We have Eleni joining us from human resources (HR), who’s kindly offered to be on hand for questions about what’s available internally.

The plan is: I’ll cover the topic for around 10 minutes, focusing on what adjustments and support schemes are out there, both inside and outside of work. Then we’ll hand over to Eleni for a bit, before opening things up for wider discussion. We’ve got a full hour, so there’s plenty of time.

A quick note on tone: some of what I’m going to cover today involves government schemes and assessment processes, and I want to be honest about how those actually work, including the parts that are difficult. This isn’t meant to be discouraging, but I wanted to be honest and realistic.

Accommodations and reasonable adjustments

Today’s topic is accommodations and reasonable adjustments. That’s a phrase that often gets treated as purely a workplace matter, but the landscape of support available to neurodivergent people is actually much broader than that. I want to cover both.

At work

Under the Equality Act 2010, employers in the UK have a legal duty to make reasonable adjustments for employees with a disability. Neurodivergent conditions, including ADHD, autism, OCD, dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia, and others, can qualify as disabilities under the Act if they have a substantial and long-term effect on day-to-day activities. You don’t need a formal diagnosis for the Act to apply, though having one can make conversations easier.

Reasonable adjustments can include things like: flexible working hours or hybrid arrangements, written rather than verbal instructions, extra time to complete tasks, noise-cancelling headphones or a quieter workspace, adjusted deadlines, changes to meeting formats, or assistive technology.

The honest reality is that many people don’t know their rights, and even among those who do, asking for adjustments can feel vulnerable. There’s a concern about being perceived differently, about whether it will actually change anything, or about how to even start the conversation. Eleni will be much better placed than me to speak to what the process looks like internally, so I’ll leave most of that to her, later on.

Access to Work

Moving outside the workplace: one of the most significant and most underused schemes available is Access to Work, run by the Department for Work and Pensions.

Access to Work is a government grant that can fund practical support for people with a health condition or disability to help them do their job. It’s available to employed people, self-employed people, and people about to start a new role. Crucially, it’s separate from your employer’s own obligations under the Equality Act: it can fund things that go beyond what it would be reasonable to expect an employer to provide on their own.

For neurodivergent people specifically, it can cover things like ADHD coaching, assistive software, a support worker, travel costs if you can’t use public transport, and mental health support through the Mental Health Support Service element of the scheme.

The tough truths: the application process is not simple. Wait times for assessments can be long. The funding is awarded based on an assessment, and there’s no guarantee you’ll receive everything you apply for. Larger employers may be expected to contribute to costs. And renewals are required, which adds ongoing administrative burden.

Despite all of that, it’s genuinely valuable and significantly underused. Many people who would qualify have never heard of it. If you think it might apply to you, it’s worth looking into, and Eleni may be able to point you to resources for navigating the application.

Personal Independence Payment

Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is a government benefit for adults aged 16 to 64 who have a long-term physical or mental health condition or disability. It has two components: daily living and mobility. It is not means-tested, which means it’s not affected by your income or savings, and it is not linked to whether you’re in work.

The purpose of PIP is to help with the extra costs that come with living with a disability. The money is yours to use as you need it.

Many neurodivergent people qualify for PIP and don’t realise it. The criteria are about the impact of your condition on daily life, not the condition itself. Things like difficulties with planning and following journeys, managing medication, preparing food, budgeting, social engagement, or communicating can all be relevant.

The honest truth about PIP: the assessment process is widely regarded as one of the most stressful aspects of accessing support. Initial refusal rates are high, but the majority of appeals are successful, which tells you something about how the process works. The assessments often don’t align well with conditions that fluctuate, or where someone has developed coping strategies that mask the underlying difficulty. It requires significant effort to apply, and many people find they need support to do it.

If you’re considering applying, organisations like Citizens Advice, Scope, and the National Autistic Society have guidance on how to approach the form in a way that accurately reflects your experience.

Disability Living Allowance

For children under 16, the equivalent benefit is Disability Living Allowance, commonly known as DLA. It has two components: care and mobility. Like PIP, it is not means-tested.

DLA is available for children who need significantly more care, supervision, or help with getting around than a child of the same age without a disability would typically need. Neurodivergent children can and do qualify. Again, the assessment is about functional impact, not diagnosis.

The same honest caveats apply: the application can be difficult to navigate, and parents and carers often find they need to describe their child’s worst days, not their best, in order to give an accurate picture of the level of support needed.

The Access Card

The Access Card, provided by Nimbus Disability, is a card that translates the impact of your disability into symbols that venues, events, and attractions can quickly understand. It’s designed to make accessing adjustments, like a companion ticket, a quieter space, or assistance at events, easier and more consistent, without having to explain your needs from scratch every time.

It’s particularly useful for people who attend concerts, theme parks, sporting events, or other public venues. Not every venue accepts it, but uptake has grown. There’s an application and assessment process, and a fee is involved.

Carers Card UK

Carers Card UK (carerscarduk.co.uk) is a national membership scheme providing an official photo ID card for unpaid carers, young carers, and professional carers across the UK. It costs £10 for two years. As well as serving as recognised proof of your caring role, membership includes access to discounts at hundreds of retailers, free companion tickets at 500+ venues including English Heritage, National Trust, and SEA LIFE, gym discounts, a wellbeing hub, and a community forum.

It also includes practical features like an emergency carer plan and document storage accessible via Quick Response (QR) code on the card, which can be genuinely useful if there’s an emergency and your care arrangements need to be understood quickly.

Eligibility is broad: anyone who provides unpaid care qualifies, regardless of whether they receive Carer’s Allowance. If you’re supporting a neurodivergent family member, you may well qualify.

The National Disability Card

The National Disability Card (disabilityid.co.uk) is a proof-of-disability photo ID card for anyone whose disability has a substantial and long-term effect on daily activities, which is the same definition used by the Equality Act 2010. That explicitly includes neurodevelopmental conditions such as autism and ADHD. It costs £20 for two years.

The card is accepted at 600+ locations as proof of eligibility for concessions and carer tickets, and comes with discounts at a range of partner brands. It also includes a near-field communication (NFC) chip that venues can scan to verify it’s genuine, and optional Braille and emergency contact QR code. Over 300,000 people hold one.

To apply, you need to provide one piece of supporting evidence: a PIP or DLA letter, a Blue Badge, a letter from a doctor, or similar. The application is reviewed the same day, and if unsuccessful you’re refunded in full. It’s a relatively low-barrier way to have portable, consistent proof of disability that you can use in everyday situations without having to explain yourself repeatedly.

What these schemes have in common

What these schemes have in common is that they exist to provide support that the world doesn’t always offer by default. Most of them also share the same frustration: they’re difficult to access, they require effort at precisely the point when someone may have least capacity to give it, and the burden falls on the individual to prove they need help rather than on systems to offer it.

That’s not a reason not to pursue them. It’s a reason to know about them, to support each other in accessing them, and to be honest about what the process actually involves.

Support at giffgaff

Okay, spiel over. Now I’d like to introduce Eleni, who’s part of our People Team. She’s kindly agreed to join us today to talk about accommodations and adjustments that we offer internally, what the process looks like for requesting adjustments, and answer any questions you have about that side of things.

Eleni then talked about the adjustments giffgaff offers, and how to ask for them. That part isn’t in my script.

Thank you

Thank you everyone, and a particular thank you to Eleni for taking the time to join us today. These conversations can be incredibly difficult to have.

If anyone wants to follow up on anything covered today, whether that’s about internal support or external support, please don’t hesitate to reach out. And if you have a topic for a future session, we’re always taking suggestions!