Dyslexia Support in the Workplace
Source The British Dyslexia Association
Getting help.
If an employee is struggling with performance or other issues in their job which may be a result of dyslexic difficulties, they would be advised to arrange a confidential meeting with an appropriate person in their organisation, such as H.R. Equality and Diversity, Occupational Health or a manager. Appropriate assessments should be arranged to determine how they can be best supported. There may be a number of effective ‘reasonable adjustments’ which can be put in place to help.
When to disclose dyslexia.
Some people diagnosed with mild dyslexic difficulties may not have disclosed this at the recruitment stage and prefer to see how the job goes. This may be fine, but there may come a point where coping strategies start to falter and help is required to support performance and avoid undue stress.
Common situations where disclosure is a good idea.
A job description may change to include areas which are more problematic, or a new line manager introduces working practices which are less dyslexia friendly. Promotion may lead to more report writing and greater organisational demands, and these may need to be supported by assistive software and strategy training. There may also be (dyslexia unfriendly) tests for promotion.
Poor performance may be dyslexia related.
A high proportion of people in the workplace has never been assessed as having dyslexic difficulties, and be unaware that their weak areas are more than just personal failings. Some may not wish to disclose dyslexia and battle on at some personal cost. Where there is an issue of poor performance, a well informed employer should be alert to the possibility of underlying specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia and take appropriate steps to address the situation.
Workplace needs assessments.
To determine the most appropriate support, a workplace needs assessment should be arranged with a dyslexia workplace consultant. This is not something that the employer or the dyslexic employee would be able to work out for themselves. Where the employee does not have a diagnostic assessment report of their dyslexia, this may need to be arranged first in order to inform the needs assessment process. See below Diagnostic Assessments.
Access to Work
Part of the JobcentrePlus organisation offer workplace needs assessments and funding for the implementation of Reasonable Adjustments. There is a normally a charge for the employer, but for small businesses under 10 employees and the self-employed, this service and the recommended support is fully funded.
Where a new employee discloses dyslexic difficulties, an assessment of need should be undertaken early on and reasonable adjustments implemented. If a new employee applies to Access to Work for a workplace needs assessment in the first six weeks of starting a new job, there is no cost to the employer for either the workplace assessment or the implementation of reasonable adjustments. Access to Work
Diagnostic Assessments.
In order to fully understand the employee’s dyslexic profile and levels of severity, the workplace needs assessor will normally require to see a diagnostic assessment report post 16 years from a Chartered Psychologist specialising in adult dyslexia. If an employee has not been assessed as an adult, a large employer would be expected to arrange this prior to the workplace needs assessment. See Getting an Assessment.
For the self-employed and some lower skilled jobs, Access to Work may not require a full, lengthy diagnostic assessment report prior to the workplace needs assessment.
As an alternative, Access to Work may accept the report from a good quality screening test, such as the BDA's Spot Your PotentialAn employer has a duty under the Disability Discrimination Act to implement reasonable adjustments, and a diagnostic assessment could be seen as part of this process. Most large employers and those in the public sector would be expected to fully fund a diagnostic assessment.
Contacting Access to Work.
Either the employer or the employee can contact Access to Work to request a workplace needs assessment. The application should be completed by the employee. In some areas of the country, Access to Work may not have a qualified dyslexia workplace consultant available for a dyslexia workplace needs assessment. In this case, the employer may wish to appoint an independent consultant. Their report can still be submitted to Access to Work for the funding to support an individual employee.
Access to Work centres are currently:
London/S.E. England/E England: Tel. 020 8426 3110
S. W. England, Wales, E. Midlands, W. Midlands: Tel. 02920 423 291
Scotland, N.W. England, N.E. England, Yorks & Humberside: Tel. 0141 950 5327
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