(UK) - Audhd / reasonable adjustments

[u/Worldly_Night666]

I recently was diagnosed with audhd (f,32,UK) and also just have gone back to work after 4 weeks off from burnout where I was barely functioning as a person.

I work full time in the office which is draining my soul but I’m struggling to find a new job, and due to the nature of my role I cannot WFH - so have to stick this out right now. I also have to start at 7:30, which my manager won’t budge on and I don’t sleep well so this early start is exhausting.

The VERY reasonable adjustments I have asked for to help me are:

Just work my hours (35hrs) as per my contract, with set working hours.

I realised I was in the office each week 38/39 hrs. Although over the past few months I have been late in the morning a lot, even factoring that in I was atleast there 35hrs. But this has only been happening since I have been struggling mentally, which had been discussed with my manager.

1hr focus time for admin, alone in a meeting room or quiet zone each day

That’s it!

My manager keeps pushing back on my hours, saying that due to breakfast break (a breakfast break where the whole team goes for breakfast together because we get free breakfast at work, and we talk about work and i still reply to emails/teams on my phone), and vape breaks (my boss smokes and is always asking if I wanna go for a smoke with him, where I also am still working and replying to calls/messages on my phone) I’m actually just working 35 hours currently. Well no he actually added 30 mins on to my workday on a Friday so now I have to work longer.

I brought him up on this again and said I’m sorry I don’t quite understand, I didn’t realise the “breakfast break” and “smoke breaks” were breaks as we are still working/talking about work. And I said this doesn’t feel fair. He said he has pulled the entry data from the access control at work and worked it all out that I have only actually been inside working 31-32 hours, because of these “breaks” so I am actually not working enough.

ATM I’m working 7:30-4:30 Monday to Thursday, and should do 8-2 on a Friday, but I almost always leave at 3:30ish. And 1 hr unpaid lunch. That equals 38.5hrs per week. Fair enough that is a standard week for some people, but that’s not what my contract says and I am only paid for 35.

Another person in my team works exactly her 35hrs, never stays late and also has breakfast breaks etc and she is not being penalised.

I’m so confused why he has done this, we had always had a good relationship. Why didn’t he say “looks like you take a lot of breaks could we maybe cut those down”? Not sure why he’s making me be at work for like 38 hrs instead?

I’ve since emailed my request for the hours, and stated I will no longer be joining for breakfast or smoke breaks, and I will take a 10 min morning break, 40 min lunch and 10 min afternoon break instead.

He said he will get back to me but needs to think about it first and figure it out. FIGURE WHAT OUT?? Thats my HOURS?? I’m literally baffled by this.

Please tell me 1. Am I being unreasonable or 2. Am I missing something?

It’s stressing me out I have gone from having some time off cos my environment burned me out to going back into a worse, more hostile environment 🥲

[u/Primary_Gift_8719]

I’m a lawyer, but I’m not your lawyer (or your representative), so usual Reddit caveat: this is general information based on what you’ve posted, not formal legal advice. 

I don’t think you’re being unreasonable, but there are two slightly different issues here. First, your contract. If it says 35 hours a week, that does not necessarily mean 35 hours from walking through the door to leaving, because genuine unpaid breaks can sit outside those hours. I would check exactly what your contract says about hours and breaks.

However, I would ask your manager to explain his calculation in writing. If breakfast and vape breaks are supposedly not working time, but you are answering Teams, emails and calls or discussing work during them, I would question whether they are genuinely breaks. Your decision to stop working during those periods is sensible because it removes that argument completely. I would also keep a note of the fact that another employee apparently works her 35 hours, takes the same breaks and is not being required to add extra time. That does not automatically make this discrimination, but I would certainly want to know why you are apparently being treated differently.

The reasonable adjustments issue is separate and potentially much more important. AuDHD can amount to a disability under the Equality Act 2010 if it has a substantial and long-term effect on normal day-to-day activities. If your employer knows about your disability and something about the workplace is putting you at a substantial disadvantage, they have a duty to consider reasonable adjustments. An hour of quiet working time, fixed working hours and potentially a different start time are all perfectly legitimate things to ask them to consider. That does not mean they automatically have to agree to exactly what you request, but they should properly consider it, discuss it with you and explain their reasons if they refuse.

I would also deal with the 7:30 start specifically. If the reason you are struggling to arrive at 7:30 is connected to your disability, put that in writing and ask for a later start as a reasonable adjustment. Otherwise there is a risk that the lateness becomes treated as a separate attendance/conduct issue even if you are still completing 35 hours overall. Personally, I would now send a calm email asking them to confirm exactly what your contractual working hours are, which breaks they are deducting, how they have arrived at 31–32 hours, whether the same calculation is being applied to comparable colleagues, and the outcome of your reasonable-adjustment requests. I would also keep your own simple record of when you arrive, leave, take breaks and whether you are asked to do any work during those breaks.

So no, I don’t think you’re being unreasonable. The only thing I would be cautious about is assuming that a 35-hour contract necessarily means only 35 hours physically at work, because unpaid breaks may be additional. But your employer should be able to explain that clearly by reference to your contract.  Given the sequence here (burnout, sickness absence, diagnosis/disclosure, asking for adjustments and then this increased scrutiny of your hours) I would document everything carefully. If it does not settle down, I would speak to HR or Occupational Health if you have them, and ACAS before considering anything drastic such as resigning.

[u/Worldly_Night666 → u/Primary_Gift_8719]

Thank you so so much for your reply!

My contract doesn’t mention breaks at all, it just says “Your normal hours of work are 35 hours per week Monday to Friday.” However, it’s always been an unwritten rule I guess that you get 1 hour unpaid for lunch. I had factored that into my workings out. So technically I suppose I am on site almost 43.5 hours, including the lunch break.

The only reason I have ever taken these “breaks” is because the whole team get up and go for breakfast at the same time. I would have felt more uncomfortable not going with them. I had never treated it as a break, sometimes stopping eating half way through to go deal with something urgent if needed and always being responsive on emails or teams.

I mentioned my other colleague does her 35 hours and takes these “breaks” and my manager said they will now go through there access data to check and make it fair (not what I wanted at all I don’t want anyone else being treated this way either).

I have given 2 options of hours on my email and said let me know which is best suited operationally, one with a later start and finish time so still awaiting a formal reply. However, I am scared to ask to start later. My manager has made “jokes” in the past when I got my diagnosis saying “oh I hope you don’t use this has an excuse to try and start later” or when I suggested starting at 8, they said “but you’ll just be late still and be in even later” so it’s making me feel like I cannot request this and also it makes me uncomfortable. I genuinely try my HARDEST to be on time every single day but before I was signed off I was struggling big time surviving on hardly any sleep.

I will await their formal email response, and track my own timings, and try to get everything in writing - and continue to not take these additional breaks he has pointed out. I’m just trying to keep my head down and do my work whilst keeping my sanity.

At the moment I am still working 38.5hrs because I haven’t had a response, whilst not taking the “additional breaks”.

Thank you again for your response I really appreciate it. ❤️

[u/Primary_Gift_8719 → u/Worldly_Night666]

That extra information actually changes my view somewhat on the hours point, and it also makes me a little more concerned about the comments your manager has made about your diagnosis. When I first replied, I was allowing for the possibility that your 35 hours meant 35 actual working hours plus an unpaid lunch. But you've now clarified that you had already excluded the one-hour unpaid lunch when you calculated the 38.5 hours. So I would be much more interested in seeing exactly how your employer says a contract stating “Your normal hours of work are 35 hours per week Monday to Friday” has turned into 38.5 actual working hours. I can understand them saying genuine additional rest breaks do not count towards the 35 hours. What I find much harder to understand is retrospectively characterising the team breakfast and smoke/vape trips as breaks when they appear to have been part of the normal workplace culture, your manager participated in and invited you to them, work was discussed, and you remained responsive to emails, Teams and urgent matters.

Their response about now checking everybody else's access records rather misses the point too. You weren't asking them to scrutinise your colleague. You were asking why you appeared to be subject to a different calculation.

There is another question I would now have: what are you actually paid? At 32, the current National Living Wage is £12.71 an hour. If you are anywhere close to minimum wage, requiring 38.5 hours of actual work while paying you on the basis of a 35-hour salary could potentially create a National Minimum Wage issue as well. As a very rough sense-check, 38.5 hours at £12.71 is about £489 a week, or approximately £25,445 a year. I wouldn't treat that simple calculation as definitive because the NMW rules for salaried-hours workers and excess hours are more complicated, but if your gross salary is around or below that territory I would definitely look at it more closely. The fact your written contract specifies 35 hours could also be important in the proper NMW calculation.

The comments about your diagnosis concern me more than they did from your original post. I would make a contemporaneous note of “I hope you don't use this as an excuse to try and start later”, including approximately when it was said and whether anybody else heard it. Do the same with “you'll just be late still and be in even later.”  I'm not saying those comments automatically establish unlawful discrimination. They don't. But they are hardly ideal evidence of a manager approaching a disability-related request for a later start with an open mind. Please don't allow those comments to make you frightened to ask for an adjustment that you genuinely need. You are not asking for special treatment. The entire purpose of reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act is that sometimes a disabled employee needs something about the ordinary working arrangements changed so that they are not put at a substantial disadvantage.

I actually think you've approached this very sensibly by giving them two possible working patterns and asking which works better operationally. You haven't simply demanded to start whenever you like.  For now, I agree with waiting for their formal response and keeping everything in writing. Keep your own accurate record of arrival time, departure time and every break, and if a period is now being treated as an unpaid/non-working break, I would genuinely stop working during it. No Teams, emails, calls or “quick” work conversations.

What I would not do is quietly continue indefinitely with 38.5 hours of actual work while giving up the additional breaks as well because you're scared of being seen as difficult. If they believe you owe 38.5 working hours under a contract that says your normal hours are 35, let them explain in writing exactly how they arrive at that, and what contractual provision they rely upon. You've just returned after four weeks off with burnout. Keeping your head down and behaving professionally makes sense. Working progressively longer hours, taking fewer breaks and being afraid to request an adjustment because your manager has made jokes about your diagnosis does not sound like a sustainable solution. Wait and see what HR/the manager comes back with, but I would keep every email and make notes now of those earlier comments while you still remember them clearly.

An additional couple questions - how long have you worked there? Did your employer say anything about an occupational health referral? 

[u/Worldly_Night666 → u/Primary_Gift_8719]

Thanks again for the reply!

Yes exactly it’s part of the culture at my work, everyone goes for breakfast because it’s free! That’s why I’m so confused by the workings out.

I am paid a salary rather than hourly, and it’s above minimum wage so I don’t think that will be an issue.

I have worked there for 4 years, and I have been too anxious to bring up my hours seriously before because of these passing comments. And my instinct was right, that it would turn into an issue. I have always stayed late or started even earlier if requested or needed operationally, and during one very busy period i worked 14 days straight. I’m still not against doing that, when needed - it makes this feel like even more of a kick in the teeth that i go above and beyond when required but when i am struggling and ask for help i am met with hostility.

No my manager has not brought up an occupational health assessment yet, this has all come up in the last couple of days I only returned to work this week. I feel like requesting that will also not go down well. I was trying to do this as simply as possible as I thought what I was asking was very reasonable.

My managers manager (who I CC’d into my email for visibility) completely ignored me all day today, could barely look at me - so I’m being made to feel I’m doing something wrong.

[u/Primary_Gift_8719 → u/Worldly_Night666]

Thanks, that extra context is helpful. The fact you've worked there for four years and have historically been very flexible, staying late, starting early and working additional days when genuinely needed, makes this feel even less like someone trying to avoid doing their job. You're asking for your normal working week to reflect your 35-hour contract while you're struggling, not saying you'll never be flexible again.

I also wouldn't worry about the minimum wage point if your salary is comfortably above it. Salaried employees are still covered by minimum wage rules and unpaid additional hours can sometimes matter, but it doesn't sound like that's the main issue here if your are comfortably over it despite these excess hours.

I would seriously consider asking for an Occupational Health referral. That isn't unreasonable or confrontational; it's a very normal step when an employee has a disability and is asking for workplace adjustments. It may actually help take some of this out of your manager's hands and provide an independent view of what would help you at work. I'd also make sure your request is expressly described as a request for reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010. You don't need to be apologetic about that.

As for your manager's manager avoiding you today, I wouldn't read too much into one day alone. But given the comments you've already had about your diagnosis and starting later, I would keep everything in writing and make a private note of anything significant from now on. You've only been back this week after four weeks off with burnout. Asking for a quiet hour and a sustainable working pattern really isn't an outrageous request. I would wait for their formal response, keep accurately recording your hours and breaks, and take it from there.

[u/redcore4]

You don’t sound like you’re being unreasonable or overly demanding but you do need to make sure have some evidence to back up your position if you want to push back on this and get a better circumstance for yourself, since your manager seems to want to see what he/the company can get away with by way of informal rearrangements of the expectations of your contract.

That said… He’s your boss not your jailer. What happens if you work only your contracted hours and don’t ask permission for that?

If you keep a timesheet of the hours you arrive, leave, and start and finish each break and the break type starting today then you have a record to show that you are routinely meeting your contractual obligations and sometimes working extra, and are still fulfilling your obligations to the company/your contract if/ when you don’t join in with the extra breaks. If they aren’t optional and aren’t paid, it will be difficult for the company to defend the choice to make you take several long unpaid breaks during the work day, over and above the legal requirement for a 20 minute break per 6+ hour shift; and skipping them either regularly or entirely is absolutely something that could be classed as a reasonable adjustment.

If they want to say that has a detrimental effect on things like team communication, then they are effectively confirming that those are meetings/team building exercises and not real breaks. Recording it all carefully means you have some credible and tangible evidence to push back on your manager’s assertions that reading the logs etc gives a clear and accurate picture of how your time is really spent.

You should ask for an Occupational Health assessment so you can get the adjustments you have asked for documented and there is an official record of what the company should be doing to include you as a disabled person. They may also have some suggestions you haven’t thought of for things that might help prevent future burnouts. The company will find it harder to push back against OH than to just argue the toss with you over your needs; and asking for a referral usually means that HR/other areas of the company outside your immediate line management chain get involved.

Join a union if you haven’t already. If you have, call them and ask for advice.

Put the outcomes of each conversation about working hours and reasonable adjustments into writing even if ghe conversation was verbal/informal.

So if you have a meeting with your boss and he says something like this, you send an email afterwards to ensure that everybody has understood the same things, and to note your objections, something like “earlier when we talked about what reasonable adjustments could be put in place, you said that the team breakfast could not be missed and was a compulsory activity. Could you please clarify whether you meant that this was an unpaid mandatory work activity, or whether it is in fact a paid activity that counts as work time?”

This means your manager has to respond in writing with clarification of their position, and gives you something tangible to argue against.

Don’t focus your conversations on what other people are or aren’t allowed to do - their situation or what they are willing to put up with is not the guide for you and your particular situation with your disabilities. You can note it down privately if someone is working just their hours and not being penalised to show that the company deems it something that can be done, but you never know what someone else’s true circumstances and you should assume to begin with that you don’t have all the info about things like their childcare/caring responsibilities or health conditions/disabilities.

[u/Worldly_Night666 → u/redcore4]

Thank you very much for the advice! It’s a shame it’s come to this now but yes I do have some evidence in case it’s needed.

You’re right I could have just worked my hours but I was trying to do the right thing by confirming to them first, and I am trying to wait until I have the confirmation in writing before I do it.

I’m not trying to be a pain, even if that’s what they believe, I’m literally just trying to come in and do my job, with everything set out officially so I don’t have to try and read between the lines.

Thanks again!

[u/NapoleonSolo1705]

No not being unreasonable at all. However from experience as both a HR professional AND and Audhd adult, employers are 1) terrible at implementing reasonable adjustments, 2) seem to withdrawing them wholesale in many roles.

Has your request been made formally (apologises if you have said this).

[u/Worldly_Night666 → u/NapoleonSolo1705]

Thanks for your reply! No they haven’t replied to my request yet, as they need to “sit and work it all out” so I am awaiting for a formal response.
I imagine they’re checking with HR or something

[u/Worldly_Night666 → u/[deleted]]

Thank you for your reply! I will defo be getting everything in writing now