Flexible Working and Neurodiversity: How to Make Requests Fair and Accessible
Reading Time: 5 minutes
Author – John Harrington
Why flexible working matters for neurodivergent employees
Changes to where, when and how someone works can reduce:
- sensory overload from noise, light, and busy open-plan offices
- commuting fatigue before the working day has even started
- interruptions that break concentration
- transitions, the mental effort of switching between places, people and tasks.
What's changing in the law
In September 2026 the government confirmed further changes under the Employment Rights Act 2025, expected to take effect in 2027. Employers turning down a request will have to sit down with the employee, consider the request properly and explain why. A new test of whether a refusal is reasonable is also planned.
That’s a welcome direction. But requiring a conversation doesn’t, on its own, make the process inclusive.
Why a face-to-face meeting can be a barrier
For someone who processes information more slowly, experiences anxiety or communicates better in writing, an unstructured conversation can be harder than a structured written exchange. They may accept an unsuitable alternative just to end the meeting. The organisation can then say it consulted, without the employee ever having a real say.
Good consultation isn’t about two people being in the same room. It’s about whether the employee could understand the issues, prepare, contribute and influence the outcome. Many of the expectations in these meetings are unwritten rules, and making them explicit helps everyone.
How to run an accessible flexible working conversation
Before the meeting
- Share the purpose, the questions you’ll discuss and any business constraints in writing.
- Ask the employee which parts of the request matter most to them.
- Invite written input, and say that a companion or support person is welcome where appropriate.
During the meeting
After the meeting
- what was considered
- what the decision is and the reasons for it
- any alternatives offered
- who is responsible for what
- the review date and how to raise it again.
Allow time for the employee to think it over. Needing processing time isn’t the same as being reluctant.
Flexible working requests and reasonable adjustments are not the same
In practice, managers need a reliable way to recognise when a request may be linked to disability or health, without making the employee disclose more than necessary. Focus the conversation on the barrier, the essential requirements of the role and the practical options. A diagnosis can be useful context, but you don’t need one to ask whether work is creating avoidable difficulty. See reasonable adjustments without a diagnosis.
Use trials and evidence, not assumptions
Agree up front what success looks like: output, service levels, how the team coordinates, wellbeing and whether the arrangement is sustainable. Then review it after a set period.
Choose measures carefully. Time online, speed of reply and keyboard activity are poor stand-ins for real contribution. The question is whether the employee can do the job well and whether the effects on colleagues and customers are manageable.
In Cognitive Inclusion Architecture™, flexible working is a question of work design. It sits alongside meeting design, decision ownership, communication load and predictable workflows. Moving someone’s location without fixing an overloaded system can simply move the friction somewhere else.
A fair decision is a clear decision
Refocus helps organisations design conversations and decision processes that are both accountable and accessible. The aim isn’t flexibility at any cost. It’s better decisions that people understand and trust. Find out more about our work with organisations.
Where in your flexible working process might an employee be consulted on paper but unable to take part fully?
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Every employee in Great Britain can request flexible working from their first day in a job. If the need is linked to a condition such as ADHD or autism, the request may also be a request for a reasonable adjustment, which the employer must consider under the Equality Act 2010.
Yes, for one of the business reasons set out in law, and after consulting the employee. Under the Employment Rights Act 2025 changes expected in 2027, employers will also need to meet the employee, explain the refusal and show it is reasonable.
Common examples include adjusted start times, protected focus time, fewer meetings, working from home on some days, a quieter workspace and predictable schedules. The best arrangement depends on the person’s specific barriers, so start with a conversation about the need, not the solution.
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