New job and autism

[TOWGA]

I’m autistic, told them fully throughout the process I was autistic, but doesn’t seem to actually have been communicated. I started this week.
My manager has been there 2 weeks, first time as a manager. I was hoping to have some reasonable adjustments due to me autism. But because she is a first time manager, she doesn’t seem to understand how to deal with someone with a disability and expects me to learn the same way as everyone else. How do I go about having a chat with her about it?

HR won’t have disclosed any of your private medical information without your permission. It’s HR you should have communicated with about your reasonable adjustment requirements, then you can show these to your manager. Obviously it’s up to you whether or not you disclose the reason for them to your manager.

I put on my application form I was autistic, and then the person I was dealing with left, but they also knew I was autistic, I finally got access to the hr system last week and could update the fact I have a disability as it wasn’t on there.

What adjustments did you discuss with HR or the interviewers during the application process? Not everyone with autism needs specific adjustments (I don’t in my current job for example), its job and personal dependent, and so just you saying you have autism won’t mean you automatically need or get adjustments. You need to have a proper conversation about it with your manager and suggest what you fell you might need.

You need to be specific about your needs. Not everyone will need the same adjustments.

In case you are not aware, Access to work will help. Here is some information www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/topics/employment/what-support-can-i-get-at-work

Access to Work will only help if they need something beyond reasonable adjustments and it takes about 9 months to actually get an assessment.

I need routine, at the moment I’m just doing different shifts every week, there is no rota as such like it seems that everyone just does odd days and times and that’s the way the rota is done. Like I would be happy with a 4 week rolling shift pattern, just so I know where I am because at the moment I can’t cope having no routine, and am seriously debating leaving already.

Hi, I'm also Autistic so totally understand :

why not use this letter from ACAS website:

Dear [name of manager / employer / HR manager],
I'm writing to make a reasonable adjustment request to help me manage my health at work.
[Give details of how your health affects work. Or how your work affects your health. You do not need to share your disability, but it can help your employer understand your needs. For example:

• I've been diagnosed with anxiety
• I'm receiving treatment for my mental health condition
• I have arthritis in my knees which makes it difficult to use public transport to get to the workplace
• I'm receiving cancer treatment]

My current working pattern and role is [give details]. To help me manage my work and health I ask that [give details of what adjustments you would find helpful and why. For example, starting and finish an hour later to miss rush hour and reduce anxiety when travelling to work]. This would mean that I can [give details of any benefits to the employer. For example, feeling calmer when I start and end work, so I can focus better]. To deal with any effects the change could have on my work or the organisation, I suggest [give details of how you and your employer could deal with any effects. For example, someone in the team will pick up client calls before I start work, and I'll respond when I get in]. Please could we meet to talk about my reasonable adjustment request. I look forward to your reply. Yours sincerely, [Your name]

As you have a registered disability reasonable adjustments are a lawful requirement

Speak/email someone in HR before you decide to leave. Are you a member of a trade union? If so, enlist their help.

The link provided by @womananddog contains very useful information.

Thanks I will try and speak to my line manager next week, but unsure how to phase it!

If you prefer to talk to your manager about it first you could open the conversation by asking what the process is to request reasonable adjustments. And then go from there.

I would be cautious about asking for informal adjustments directly with your manager, especially about things like rotas where it can be harder to accommodate individual needs. It is easier to ask for a reasonable adjustment that hasn’t previously been refused. People are much less likely to reverse a decision than they are to make a new one in your favour.