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What can I do if I’m having trouble at work?

Anyone can have problems at work, but autistic people may be more likely to experience issues due to poor understanding of autism by colleagues, a lack of appropriate support, bullying and discrimination. This page covers these issues plus situations where there is concern about your ability to do your job and being dismissed. 

Autism, discrimination and UK employment law

Autism is a disability in UK employment law. (For more information about this, read the section ‘Autism, disability and UK equality law’ on our page What are reasonable adjustments and when can they be requested.) 

The Equality Act (2010) states that someone must not be discriminated against because: 

  • they have a disability 
  • someone thinks they have a disability (discrimination by perception) 
  • they have a connection to someone with a disability (discrimination by association). 

The law protects the following people from discrimination at work: 

  • employees and workers 
  • contractors and self-employed people hired to undertake freelance work 
  • job applicants 
  • former employees – when providing references, for example. 

There are several different kinds of disability discrimination, including: 

  • direct discrimination – when someone is treated worse than someone else in a similar situation because of their disability 
  • indirect discrimination – when a person or organisation has a particular policy or way of working that puts disabled people at a disadvantage, compared to people who are not disabled 
  • victimisation – when someone is treated badly because they have made a complaint of discrimination or are supporting someone who has made a complaint. 

Disability discrimination law also includes: 

  • discrimination arising from disability – when someone is treated badly or is disadvantaged because of something relating to their disability 
  • failure to make reasonable adjustments. 

Particularly in relation to discrimination, the need to make adjustments for an employee or worker: 

  • must not be a reason not to promote a worker if they are the best person for the job with the adjustments in place 
  • must not be a reason to dismiss a worker 
  • must be considered in relation to every aspect of their job 
  • must be provided if the adjustments are reasonable for the employer to make. 

Unlike the other forms of discrimination, indirect discrimination and discrimination arising from disability can be considered lawful in rare circumstances when the employer can show there is a good reason for it. This is known as ‘objective justification’. The Employment Statutory Code of Practice explains this in more detail. 

Northern Ireland 

In Northern Ireland, the relevant law is the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA). The Equality Commission for Northern Ireland has a good overview of the disability discrimination law and employment in Northern Ireland. 

More information 

The following organisations have more information about disability discrimination at work: 

Conflict, bullying and harassment

Conflict 

Conflict in the workplace can happen for many reasons, including workplace stress, clashing personalities and differing working styles and preferences. Some examples of how conflict could arise for autistic people specifically include: 

  • a lack of awareness and understanding of autism by colleagues 
  • being given information and instructions that are unclear or confusing (which may include using sarcasm or irony), resulting in the autistic person not understanding what they are being told or asked to do 
  • non-autistic colleagues misinterpreting the communication style or behaviour of the autistic person – for example, misinterpreting direct, honest and/or literal communication, or reactions to sensory or social overwhelm, as rude or blunt 
  • autistic people focusing on work instead of socialising being misinterpreted as being unfriendly 
  • autistic people feeling anxious or distressed when a task or routine is disrupted 
  • autistic people not realising when they are unwell due to interoceptive differences and/or continuing to work when unwell due to a desire to maintain their normal routine. This can lead to worse sickness and/or autistic burnout.

It can sometimes be difficult for autistic people to pick up on signs of conflict between people, as the clues can sometimes be subtle and may rely on making sense of colleagues’ body language, actions or sarcasm. 

Signs of conflict can include: 

  • a person leaving the room abruptly when another person enters 
  • someone rolling their eyes when another person is talking 
  • a colleague who is usually talkative and friendly suddenly only giving short or one-word responses. 

Bullying 

There is no legal definition of bullying. The Government-funded Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) defines bullying at work as “unwanted behaviour from a person or group” that is either: 

  • offensive, intimidating, malicious or insulting 
  • an abuse or misuse of power that undermines, humiliates, or causes physical or emotional harm to someone. 

ACAS say bullying might: 

  • be a regular pattern of behaviour or a one-off incident 
  • happen face-to-face, on social media, in emails or calls 
  • happen at work or in other work-related situations 
  • not always be obvious or noticed by others. 

It notes that a person may not be aware that their behaviour is bullying, but “it can still be bullying even if they do not realise it or do not intend to bully someone.” 

Under UK health and safety legislation, all employers must provide a safe and healthy working environment, including protection from bullying and harassment at work. 

Harassment 

In UK equality law, harassment is when someone experiences unwanted behaviour that is related to a ‘protected characteristic’. These include: 

  • age 
  • disability (including autism) 
  • gender reassignment 
  • race 
  • religion or belief 
  • sex 
  • sexual orientation. 

For the unwanted behaviour to be considered harassment, it must have either violated someone's dignity or created an environment that is intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive. 

Examples of harassment include: 

  • spoken or written words or abuse (such as nicknames, teasing, name-calling) 
  • imagery or graffiti 
  • physical gestures, facial expressions, mimicry (copying or imitating someone in a cruel way) or other physical behaviour 
  • jokes or pranks 
  • acts affecting a person’s surroundings.  

Whether the harassment is intentional or not does not matter. The key thing is whether the comments or actions (relating to you being autistic or another protected characteristic) are offensive, demeaning, disrespectful or unacceptable. 

What to do if you are experiencing conflict, bullying or harassment 

Any complaint of bullying or harassment should be taken seriously by your employer and looked into as soon as possible. If you think you are experiencing conflict, or have been subject to bullying or harassment you can: 

Employers should support you to try to resolve conflict where possible. For example, they might arrange a conversation between the you and others involved. Dealing with things informally may be quicker and less stressful than more formal processes. 

If the situation is too serious to be dealt with informally, or if informal attempts have not helped, formal complaints procedures should be followed. 

ACAS has guidance on how to raise a problem at work informally and on raising a formal grievance. 

What can I do if my employer thinks I’m not able to do my job?

Performance and capability 

If your employer says they are concerned about your performance at work or your ability to do your job, they should try to understand the reasons why any poor performance may be happening and take steps to support you to improve. 

They may do this as part of a formal process to review your capability or performance. They must carry out a process like this before taking any further action, such as dismissing you from your role (sacking you). 

Your employer may find that the challenges you are facing are related to you being autistic. For example: 

  • how other people react to you because you are autistic 
  • how the working environment affects you because you are autistic 
  • how being autistic affects how you work. 

Behaviour, responses and reactions 

An employer may find that an autistic employee’s behaviour, responses and reactions are being misinterpreted. For example: 

  • autistic people can respond more literally and honestly than non-autistic people may expect, which could be misinterpreted as being rude or disrespectful 
  • autistic people can show distressed behaviour, for example in overwhelming sensory or social environments, which could be misinterpreted as intentional and aggressive. 

However, because responses and reactions such as these are due to the person being autistic, taking disciplinary action against them could potentially be discriminatory. See the section above, Autism, discrimination and UK employment law. 

Reasonable adjustments 

UK equality law puts a duty on employers to make reasonable adjustments for people who meet the legal definition of disability (including autistic people) to stop them being disadvantaged. Employers can change the way things are usually done, provide extra equipment or support, and/or make changes to the workplace. 

For more information, read our page What are reasonable adjustments and when can they be requested? 

Once suitable reasonable adjustments are in place for you, you may find that the barriers you had previously faced are overcome and you are able to perform well in your role. 

Sickness and absence 

If your employer raises concerns about the number of absences you have had or the reasons for them, read our information on 'Sickness and absence policies and procedures' on our page What support is available if I am unable to work? 

Dismissal from your job (being sacked)

An employer can end an employee’s role through a process called dismissal, which is commonly referred to as ‘being sacked’ or ‘being fired’. Dismissal can also mean being made redundant or reaching the end of a fixed-term contract, but being sacked is due to either: 

  • misconduct – when the employer believes an employee’s behaviour, or ‘conduct’, is unacceptable 
  • capability – when the employer doesn’t think that the employee can do their job. 

Challenging dismissal 

If you are sacked from your job, you can challenge the decision within three months of it being made. You must appeal the decision through your employer's appeal process. Your employer should tell you or write to you about how to appeal. 

If you appeal the decision and your complaint is not resolved, there may be further action you can take, such as making a claim to an employment tribunal. ACAS has information on Making a claim to an employment tribunal. 

If you have been dismissed from your job or are concerned that you might be dismissed unfairly, it is important that you seek advice and support. Organisations that provide advice and support include: 

Unfair dismissal 

Some kinds of dismissals are automatically considered to be unfair. For example, if someone was dismissed because they: 

  • are pregnant or on maternity leave 
  • asked for their legal rights at work – for example, reasonable adjustments 
  • took part in trade union activities 
  • reported their employer for wrongdoing (whistleblowing). 

It is also unfair if someone is: 

  • dismissed for a reason relating to disability (or any of the other protected characteristics) 
  • forced to resign due to their employer’s behaviour (constructive dismissal). For example: 
    • they suddenly demote them, reduce their pay or don’t pay them
    • they force them to accept unreasonable changes to how they work
    • they let other employees harass or bully them.

Any dismissal of an employee must be fair and justified and, when someone has a disability, a dismissal must not be discriminatory. The employer must be able to prove that: 

  • the employee cannot do their job even after all reasonable adjustments and support strategies have been tried 
  • there are no other suitable roles that the employer can offer 
  • there is no other way the work can be done 
  • the decision to dismiss is reasonable when all the circumstances are considered. 

The duty to make reasonable adjustments applies during all stages of employment, including dismissal. 

ACAS have more information about employee rights relating to dismissal.  

Fair dismissal 

If you are dismissed, but you believe the dismissal is fair, you could reflect on which parts of your job worked well and which didn’t. You could also think about how you can find a job that matches your strengths and skills. You may find our page How can I find a job that’s right for me? helpful. 

Losing a job can be very difficult for anyone. It may help you to: 

Links, resources and article sources

 

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