For HR professionals, the statistic that one in five neurodivergent employees experience harassment or bullying at work should ring serious alarm bells. This isn’t just about policy or process – it’s about real people being harmed, and organisations exposing themselves to major legal, reputational, and cultural risks.
Despite growing awareness of neurodiversity, inclusion within the workplace has not caught up. According to recent research, 77% of HR professionals have never received any neurodiversity-specific training, while employment tribunal cases involving neurodivergent workers rose by a third in just one year.
With compensation for disability discrimination uncapped, and with managers potentially being personally liable under the Equality Act 2010, every organisation needs to take this issue seriously. But this isn’t just a ‘HR problem’ – it affects every person in the workplace, regardless of whether they identify as neurodivergent or not.
Harassment, bullying and the law
Under the Equality Act 2010, an employer can be held legally responsible if they act in a way, or allow others to act in a way, that violates a person’s dignity or creates a hostile, degrading, or intimidating environment.
Neurodevelopmental conditions such as autism, ADHD, and dyslexia can amount to disabilities under the Act. This means that employers have a legal duty to take reasonable steps to protect individuals from harassment or discrimination, including where the source is a colleague.
This duty sits within a constantly shifting landscape of enormous social and medical change, resulting in significant complexity for employers and employees alike.
ADHD, for instance, has only been diagnosable in UK adults since 2008. Since then, awareness and diagnosis rates have surged – as have NHS waiting lists, with some stretching up to 10 years.
For employers, this creates a confusing situation. The legal test for disability is not medical, meaning an employee may be entitled to reasonable adjustments even without a formal diagnosis.
Meanwhile, public debates have often done more to stoke stigma than understanding. Sensationalist headlines asking whether ‘everyone has ADHD these days’ feed into stereotypes that can easily spill over into the workplace, with severe real-life consequences.
When ‘banter’ becomes harassment
Comments like ‘you’re acting a bit autistic today’ or jokes about someone’s ‘ADHD scatterbrain’ may be brushed off as a joke, but can amount to harassment under the law.
Given that one in seven people are neurodivergent, the likelihood that such remarks touch someone directly – even if they’ve never disclosed a diagnosis – is high.
Crucially, intent doesn’t matter. If the person feels harassed, then they have been harassed in the eyes of the law. The person affected also doesn’t even need to have a disability themselves to bring a claim; it’s enough that the behaviour relates to disability.
When performance management crosses the line
Things can become particularly complex when disability-related traits affect performance.
For example, an employee with ADHD who struggles with focus or time management might be placed on a Performance Improvement Plan. If this process fails to take account of how ADHD affects their work, it could easily be perceived as discriminatory or even harassing.
Often, these situations don’t arise from bad intent, but from fear or uncertainty, such as of saying the wrong thing, or of handling a sensitive issue incorrectly and causing offence.
When trust breaks down, neurodivergent employees may avoid disclosing their needs until breaking point, while managers tiptoe around the subject entirely. The result is an ‘elephant in the room’, which undermines collaboration, engagement, and psychological safety for everyone.
HR’s role: from compliance to culture
HR’s job isn’t to police every word or interaction. Rather, HR can help build a culture where it’s safe to ask questions, make mistakes, and learn together.
This requires structure, consistency, and clarity. The following four steps outline how HR can move from checking boxes to breaking barriers.
1. Ensure legal compliance (as the floor — not the ceiling)
Legal compliance should be viewed as the minimum standard, not the end goal.
Understanding the Equality Act 2010 – and what constitutes harassment, discrimination, and disability – must form part of every employee’s induction, not just HR’s.
Everyone in the organisation should know:
- What counts as harassment and discrimination
- How conditions like ADHD and autism can be considered disabilities
- What their responsibilities are in creating a fair and safe workplace
Policies should go beyond the legal minimum by providing practical guidance. They should:
- Clearly define terms such as disability and neurodiversity
- Set out the process for disclosing conditions, requesting adjustments, and reviewing decisions
- Include realistic timeframes and accountability for follow-ups
- Offer examples of harassment and outline the consequences
Embedding this clarity in both policy and training helps to reduce misunderstandings and build trust. It also signals to employees that their organisation takes inclusion – and dignity – seriously.
2. Make neurodiversity training mandatory
Voluntary awareness sessions, while well-intentioned, often attract those who are already engaged or supportive of neurodivergence. The people who most need to understand neurodiversity may never attend.
Mandatory neuroaffirmative training ensures that inclusion is treated as a core competency, not an optional extra.
This training should do more than explain what ADHD or dyslexia “are.” It should give employees practical tools for collaboration, communication, and feedback, including:
- Conflict resolution and de-escalation skills
- Inclusive meeting and hybrid-working practices
- Understanding sensory and environmental needs
- Recognising micro-aggressions and avoiding ableist assumptions
When inclusion becomes an everyday skill rather than a specialist topic, it benefits everyone – not just those with diagnosed conditions.
3. Facilitate specific, practical support
Even with strong policies and training, managers will occasionally need help navigating specific situations.
If an employee discloses a condition such as dyscalculia, their manager should be able to access specialised coaching or resources to understand how best to support that person.
Managers don’t need to be experts in neurodiversity, but they do need to be comfortable having open, informed conversations about health, performance, and support needs – without fear of offending or ‘getting it wrong.’
While Occupational Health assessments can be helpful, they often feel formal or transactional. Supplementing them with ongoing, personalised guidance – for example, from internal coaches or external specialists – can make support far more effective and less intimidating.
4. Encourage peer support and early intervention
Many neurodivergent employees hesitate to raise concerns with HR or their manager, fearing stigma or repercussions. This silence can allow issues to escalate, often unnecessarily.
Peer support programmes can help bridge that gap. Some organisations, for example, have trained in-house ADHD coaches who provide confidential, practical support tailored to the realities of the job.
Others have introduced ADHD Champions, such as Disney, which trained 250 Mental Health First Aiders to act as informed points of contact, equipped with ADHD coaching skills.
By adding a small, visible indicator (such as a logo in an email signature) and providing curated resources or ‘conversation scripts,’ these champions make support feel accessible and normalised.
This approach strengthens workplace relationships, encourages empathy, and helps neurodiversity networks avoid burnout. However, it’s crucial that HR actively supports these initiatives with time, training, and recognition – not just goodwill.
Building a neuroinclusive culture: beyond compliance
Ultimately, neuro-inclusion isn’t about pushing everyone to be friends or policing every phrase. It’s about creating an environment where people feel safe, valued, and able to contribute in ways that play to their strengths.
When organisations foster that kind of culture, everyone benefits: creativity increases, turnover drops, and teams become more resilient.
A truly inclusive workplace isn’t built on compliance checklists – it’s built on courage, compassion, and curiosity. It’s not about erasing difference, but learning how to live, work, and succeed with it, where our unique attributes are not tolerated, but actively valued.
After all, we’re all neurodiverse, and think differently to one another.
LLeanne Maskell is National Specialist Coach of the Year, the founder of ADHD coaching company, ADHD Works, and best-selling author of AuDHD: Blooming Differently and ADHD Works at Work
