Dyslexic employees and tribunals

There have been several cases of dyslexic employees being involved in tribunals recently and The Indpendent have covered this issue in an article in today's paper. The British Dyslexia Association have contributed the following statement in response to this article;

" Employees with Dyslexia or a related condition are often extremely loyal employees with talents that organisations really need. They may face some challenges thrown up by their condition but in most cases these are easily mitigated by inexpensive coping strategies. Employers need to be aware that they must, by law, implement reasonable adjustments for such employees and allow sufficient time for them to develop fluency with these adjustments. Examples of reasonable adjustments are text reading software, personal organisational strategies and Dyslexia awareness training for their manager and colleagues. There is funding support available via the Access to Work Scheme for Employers. It can take up to six months for the individual to become fluent in operating their reasonable adjustments.

If an individual seems committed but is having problems with organising their workload and/or coping with multiple demands, then it is always worth considering whether an undiagnosed condition such as dyslexia is present. Many individuals do not know they are dyslexic. The best practice for an employer is to broach this topic gently with the individual in the context of an evidence based conversation on their performance and any difficulties they may be having. If it seems likely and the employee agrees to it, then the employer can arrange through the BDA assessments department, for a diagnostic assessment to be carried out (email: assessments@bdadyslexia.org.uk).

Each individual with dyslexia will have a different pattern of strengths and weaknesses, so no conclusions can be drawn relating one individual to another, and there is no one size fits all solution! If the diagnosis does show evidence of dyslexia or a related condition, then the next stage should be a workplace needs assessment. The purpose of this is to recommend specific reasonable adjustments matching the individuals strengths and challenges to the requirements of their role and job. "

BDA are able to offer Workplace Needs Assessments. For details please see: http://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/services/assessments

Alternatively they can be obtained via the Government’s Access to Work Scheme: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/527784/employer-guide-atw-dwpf03a.pdf

BDA are also able to offer Dyslexia Awareness training for Employees and colleagues. For details see: http://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/services/training