New report reveals endemic discrimination towards neurodiverse people
We've been hearing from Oxfordshire employment experts
A new report reveals workplaces across the UK are experiencing endemic discrimination of neurodiverse workers, with almost half of employees admitting they’ve experienced discriminatory behaviour towards colleagues.
It is thought that about 15 to 20 percent of the world's population is neurodivergent, a general term which includes conditions such as Autism, ADHD: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADD: Attention Deficit Disorder, Dyscalculia, Dyslexia and Dyspraxia.
The Neurodiversity At Work (2024) report by Pearn Kandola, a business psychology consultants, found when job hunting, the barriers neurodiverse candidates face were “bias and negative attitudes” from employers, based on neurotypical assumptions and employers not offering or making reasonable adjustments.
Oxfordshire Recruitment Specialist James Meachin says neurodiversity amounts to something which affects big proportions of workers:
"Research estimates show that 15% to 20% of the population are neurodivergent. Figures may be higher than that as increasing awareness means there will be increasing diagnosis.
"Chances are that you will know somebody who has some form of neurodiversity."
Clare Reynolds is a Business Psychologist across Oxfordshire, and told us more about some of the findings:
"Less than half of people found that recruitment experiences which they had experienced were fair.
"40% of employees weren't seeing the adjustments that they need at work, and that they're entitled to. To put in a nutshell, they weren't getting adequate support to do their job."