If your organisation is struggling to meet rising neurodiversity needs, while navigating Access to Work reform, there are cost-effective ways to still provide support.
Once a valued scheme for giving neurodiverse individuals the support they need to remain in work, Access to Work has been overwhelmed by record numbers of employees seeking assessments, adjustments and ongoing help.
Although reforms to the scheme have yet to be announced, employers are already experiencing a scaling back of support. Helplines have been replaced by one-way email communication and hundreds of thousands of people are now having to wait years for an assessment.
With the reforms anticipated to shift responsibility and cost onto employers further, there are four ways to take back control and empower neurodiverse individuals to perform, for a fraction of the cost of leaving them unsupported.
1. Support the symptoms, not the condition
It’s a common misconception that a formal neurodiversity diagnosis is required to offer support, when in practice one person’s experience of autism or ADHD can differ widely to that of another. What really matters is identifying the specific tasks, environments or workflows causing someone to struggle and finding practical ways to help them succeed.
For example, an autistic employee working in retail might feel overwhelmed by the noise and bright lights in a busy food hall, but could thrive in the quieter, softly lit home furnishings department. Similarly, a dyslexic employee struggling to write reports may only need to know how to utilise existing speech-to-text software, dyslexia-friendly fonts and AI proofreading tools, to thrive.
Rather than waiting years for a formal diagnosis, it’s worth considering a ‘needs assessment’ for employees showing minor neurodiversity symptoms. As well as quickly pinpointing the adjustments they need to thrive, these assessments also involve managers to ensure they know how best to support the individuals and ensure any recommendations can be put into practice.
2. Carry out a cost-benefit analysis
Although the average Access to Work grant is around £6,600, this includes disabled individuals requiring tens of thousands of pounds for costly hearing, mobility or visual equipment. For neurodiversity support, the average grant is only around £1,500. However, employers with over 250 employees must contribute £1,000, and those with 50–249 employees must contribute £500.
Only those with less than fifty employees contribute nothing. Any potential saving also needs to be weighed against the impact of delaying support. Unsupported neurodivergent employees are more likely to mask, experience fatigue, or develop physical symptoms, increasing the risk of sickness absence and reduced productivity.
Managers and HR also incur additional costs, diverting resources to support employees who are struggling. This can include extra supervision, communication and conflict resolution when social or communication norms cause misunderstandings. So consider the total costs, versus the total potential savings, when deciding whether to rely on Access to Work or fund direct support.
3. Utilise economies of scale
With one in seven people in the UK anticipated to be neurodiverse, there are huge economies of scale that can be leveraged to make supporting neurodiverse individuals more effective. For example, buying an assistive technology license that can be shared across the organisations is far less per user, than purchasing on a one-on-one basis.
It can also be much more cost-effective to make managing neurodivergent conditions part of ongoing management training, than training managers one-on-one as issues arise. This approach also ensures managers know how to recognise neurodivergent traits and support individuals, before they become too sick to work or develop perceived performance issues.
Many organisations are also providing their mental health first aiders with neurodivergence training, extending an existing internal network to provide immediate support. This helps normalise conversations around neurodivergence, and ensures employees and managers know how to access support to reduce absenteeism, presenteeism and workplace conflicts.
4. Create a culture that values neurodiversity
The current cost pressures on government and organisations risk pushing equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) agendas backwards, even though research from McKinsey shows companies in the top quartile for diversity have profits that are 21% higher than average. In this sense, supporting neurodiversity mustn’t be seen as a cost, but an opportunity to be capitalised upon.
Neurodivergent individuals can achieve significant success, due to traits such as creative thinking, challenging assumptions, avoiding group think and hyper-focus. Autistic individuals can also particularly excel at problem-solving, mathematics and coding skills, abilities that have made Elon Musk a high-profile example of success on the autism spectrum.
Even amongst less high-performing employees, many of our clients value the positive impact of neurodivergent employees’ work-ethic and attention to detail, when properly supported. Critical to harnessing these benefits is creating a culture that openly supports neurodivergent employees and helps them to thrive, instead of leaving them in the current ‘limbo land’.
By Yvonne Honeyman, Director of Neurodiversity, PAM Group
