What Reasonable Adjustments Can a Dyslexic Employee Ask For?

Most people asking this question are not asking to be let off anything. They are asking how to do a job they are already capable of doing without the written and organisational side taking a disproportionate toll. That is exactly what adjustments are for.

Start with the barrier, not the label

Two dyslexic people in the same job may need completely different things. One may read slowly but write fluently. Another may write well given time but lose verbal instructions immediately. A third may be entirely comfortable with both and struggle only with sequencing a complex week.

So the productive conversation starts with the task. Which parts of the role take you far longer than they should, or go wrong most often? What is happening at that moment? What have you already tried? Adjustments built from those answers tend to work. Adjustments copied from a generic list often do not.

Written information and instructions

• •Instructions confirmed in writing after a verbal briefing, or verbally after a written one, depending on which way round helps.
• •Agendas, papers and reports circulated in advance rather than handed out in the meeting.
• •Key documents supplied in an accessible electronic format so text to speech can be used.
• •Clear, plain formatting in internal documents, with headings, short paragraphs and no dense blocks of text.
• •A summary of actions after meetings, with owners and deadlines set out simply.
• •Permission to record meetings or training for your own use, where colleagues are informed and agree.

How work is structured and organised

• •Large tasks broken into defined stages with interim check points.
• •Explicit priorities when several deadlines land together, rather than leaving you to guess.
• •Templates and standard formats for reports, case notes and recurring correspondence.
• •Checklists for multi step processes, particularly ones done infrequently.
• •Advance notice of changes to schedules or systems wherever possible.
• •Protected time for written work at your most effective point in the day, with interruptions reduced.
• •A quieter space or a desk away from the busiest area, or agreed use of noise cancelling headphones.

So the productive conversation starts with the task.

Assistive technology

Technology is often the single most effective adjustment, and much of it is already built into standard software.

• •Text to speech to listen to documents and to hear your own drafts read back.
• •Speech to text for drafting emails, reports and notes.
• •Specialist literacy support software with word prediction, homophone checking and vocabulary support.
• •Screen adjustments such as font, spacing, colour and reading rulers to reduce visual load.
• •Mind mapping software for planning documents before writing them.
• •Scanning and optical character recognition so printed material can be read aloud.
• •Recording apps and transcription for meetings and site visits.
• •Calendar and task tools with reminders, used consistently rather than in parallel with three other systems.

Training matters as much as the software. A licence nobody has shown you how to use is not an adjustment.

Time, testing and demonstrating competence

• •Suitable additional time for written tasks where the deadline is set by convention rather than genuine operational need.
• •Realistic timescales for reading long documents before a decision is required.
• •Proofreading support for external or high stakes documents, agreed openly rather than done as a favour.
• •Alternative ways to demonstrate knowledge in internal tests and mandatory training, such as verbal or practical assessment.
• •Adjustments to recruitment and promotion processes, including extra time for written exercises or receiving questions in advance.
• •Accessible formats and adjusted pacing for compulsory e-learning.

Support, review and development

• •Regular short check ins with your manager rather than one long annual conversation.
• •Specialist workplace coaching or strategy training, which can often be funded through Access to Work.
• •A named point of contact for adjustments, so you are not renegotiating with each new manager.
• •A written record of agreed adjustments, sometimes called an adjustment passport.
• •A scheduled review, because adjustments that suited one role may not suit the next.

Training matters as much as the software. A licence nobody has shown you how to use is not an adjustment.

The Equality Act 2010 in context

In Great Britain, the Equality Act 2010 places a duty on employers to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people. Dyslexia may be considered a disability under the Act where it has a substantial and long term adverse effect on a person's ability to carry out normal day to day activities. Whether that applies is decided on the individual facts, not by the diagnosis alone. Equivalent duties exist in Northern Ireland under separate legislation.

The duty arises where the employer knows, or could reasonably be expected to know, that a person is disabled and is placed at a substantial disadvantage. In practice this is why raising it, and having it recorded, matters. This article is general information and not legal advice.

What reasonable actually means

Reasonableness is judged on the circumstances. Factors typically include how effective the adjustment would be at removing the disadvantage, how practical it is, the cost, the size and resources of the organisation, and any disruption caused. A small employer and a national organisation may reasonably arrive at different answers to the same request.

Essential duties and safety critical roles

Adjustments change how a job is done. They do not usually remove the essential functions of the role. In safety critical work, in regulated professions, and where accuracy is a genuine operational requirement, some adjustments will not be possible in the form first requested. That does not end the conversation. Often a different adjustment achieves the same end, such as building in a formal second check rather than removing the requirement for accuracy.

Occupational health

Employers frequently refer to occupational health for an independent view. An occupational health report advises the employer about your health in relation to your work and recommends adjustments. It does not usually diagnose dyslexia. You can ask to see the report and to comment on factual accuracy before it is shared.

Access to Work

Access to Work is a government scheme that can provide practical and financial support to help disabled people and people with health conditions start or stay in work. For dyslexic employees it may contribute towards assistive technology, specialist coaching and workplace strategy support.

It is a separate process from anything your employer does, and it is applied for by the individual. Eligibility, what is offered and any employer contribution are all decided by the Access to Work team, so nobody can promise an outcome in advance. It is well worth investigating, and current guidance and timescales are on GOV.UK.

Diagnostic assessment and workplace needs assessment are different

These are often confused, and the distinction is genuinely useful.

• •A diagnostic assessment asks whether a specific learning difficulty such as dyslexia is present. It looks at cognitive processing and literacy attainment against your history, and produces a diagnostic conclusion with general recommendations.
• •A workplace needs assessment starts from your actual job. It looks at your duties, environment, systems and barriers, and recommends specific adjustments, technology and training for that role.

Many adults benefit from both, in that order, but not always. If you already have a diagnosis, a workplace needs assessment is usually the more directly useful next step. If nothing has ever been identified and you want to understand why work feels the way it does, the diagnostic assessment often comes first.

Asking well

• •Name the barrier and the task, not just the diagnosis.
• •Bring two or three specific requests rather than a general concern.
• •Explain the benefit to the work, such as fewer errors or faster turnaround.
• •Offer to trial an adjustment for a set period and review it.
• •Confirm what was agreed in writing, including timescales and owners.
• •If a request is declined, ask for the reason and whether an alternative would be considered.

Our guide on whether to tell your employer covers the conversation itself in more detail.

When an assessment may help

A diagnostic assessment can help where you want to understand your own processing profile, where an employer or funder has asked for evidence, or where you are making decisions about study alongside work. It is not a requirement before asking for support, and no assessment can guarantee that particular adjustments will be agreed. What it can do is describe clearly what makes certain tasks harder for you, which tends to make the conversation with an employer a more informed one.

You can read about adult dyslexia assessments, dyslexia at work and assessment fees. If it would help to talk first, a free 15-minute telephone call is available with no obligation, and you are welcome to use it simply to work out whether an assessment would tell you anything you do not already know.

Related guides

• •Should I tell my employer I am dyslexic?
• •Why am I so much better at my job than I am at the paperwork?
• •Can dyslexia be diagnosed alongside ADHD or dyspraxia?
• •Dyslexia at work
• •Browse the Knowledge Centre