AIBU to think dismissal during probation was unfair given autism adjustments?

[SereneRoseRobin]

I’m looking for honest views because I’m not sure whether I’m being unreasonable or whether this was genuinely unfair.

I was recently dismissed from a graduate/analyst role after my probation was extended. I am autistic, and my employer knew this. I had raised the need for clear written instructions, defined objectives, examples of similar work, timelines, and timely/direct feedback. Some support was put in place, including coaching, but I don’t feel the actual adjustments were properly embedded or reviewed before the decision was made.

The difficult part is that the concerns raised about me seemed mainly to focus on communication style, professional behaviour, asking for clarification, Teams messages, and quality assurance under pressure — rather than on whether I could actually do the analytical work. Some recent written feedback said my analytical skills were good, that my work did not contain relevant errors, that I was taking ownership, and that I sought support appropriately. Another person said I had picked up on a complex project well.

The project I was criticised on was not straightforward. I was a first-year graduate with no prior experience in that sector, and I was assigned open-ended/data-heavy modelling work with a lot of ambiguity and short deadlines. Some outputs were expected within hours or by the next day, so there was not much time for structured review. I also didn’t always get timely feedback while I could still act on it. Some feedback came months after the work had ended.
My probation extension was meant to allow support and coaching to take effect, but I was dismissed before the extension period had fully ended. I had submitted evidence of improvement the day before the decision, but I don’t feel it was properly discussed or considered.
The coaching report apparently said the benefit of coaching should be assessed after a longer period, because performance can dip while new strategies embed.

I’m appealing because I think they didn’t properly separate disability-related communication issues from actual capability, didn’t give recent improvement enough weight, and didn’t consider alternatives such as letting the extension run, providing clearer QA/communication frameworks, assigning more standard analyst work, or redeploying me to a more suitable team.

I’m not saying I was perfect. I know there were areas to improve. But I feel like I was assessed against unclear expectations, on complex work, without the timely feedback and structure that had already been identified as necessary for me.

AIBU to think this was unfair and potentially linked to disability discrimination/failure to make reasonable adjustments? Or is this just how probation works, and I should accept it and move on?

What is your advice for the op?

I have given my advice already.

Get the union involved.
It can be so difficult to navigate workplace politics and the unwritten arbitrary rules.
The cliques and hierarchies.
There needs to be support for people to keep their jobs as much as get jobs.
Union rep can be useful.

In my area 'Mind' have a workplace support service which can help support for a period and help with the barriers to staying in a placement. I wonder if that's a service in other areas too. Maybe gp could refer?

People need to work and not be written off or just told to "change attitude ", and there are definitely many aspects that people are saying here are a problem, which i think are a common issues in autism, so actually could be discrimination, especially if the company haven't followed guidelines properly.

You are acting as if she's bloody up skirting people or going round filming people for her channel.
She already has explained herself here several times. I understand that it's something that is a personal trigger for you. Is there any punishment for her at this point that would satisfy you?

She needs to learn from it. Which, given her posts here, she hasn’t done. She’s very lucky she wasn’t immediately sacked for gross misconduct when it was discovered. The least she should have done was apologise, which she didn’t do. The company itself could be in hot water for this. I know she’s autistic but the law is still the law and it’s not fair that she puts others in this position.

As far as her behaviour in general, I’ve given plenty of advice. But unless she realises that reasonable adjustments aren’t a free pass to behave contrary to disciplinary procedures, she’s going to keep being let go. The key word in reasonable adjustments is reasonable. There will come a point where what the op wants in terms of adjustments just isn’t reasonable - especially for a busy team in consulting where the op is a graduate trainee and expected to be proactive.

She hasn’t a hope at tribunal, all the company will say is too many issues where she broke procedures multiple times and look at this gross misconduct she did - it’s clear in policy not to do xyz and she was warned and she still did it.

No one has said that. Literally no one. And this is (I think, anyway) the OP's issue, she can't distinguish between someone requesting reasonable adjustments and demanding them in a really rigid way that treats not accommodating all of them immediately as equivalent to doing nothing. It's not. Similarly you, and she, seem to be taking advice that says "look at what you can change (no one is saying change what you are unable to due to your autism) rather than assuming that all the change needs to be made by other people" as some sort of enablist attack. It's really not. But are you really saying that all autistic people are completely unable to modify their behaviour? It might be hard, they might not be able to do it to so great an extent as NT people. But they can do it, and so if the question is "how do I hold on to a job irrespective of how suitable I am for it" - which it appears to be when it comes down to it, and there is only one piece of advice that fits: "behave as if you are a good fit". The OP may not be able to follow that advice, but it doesn't mean it isn't the right advice.

@SereneRoseRobin A few people have asked, but you seem to be avoiding the question, but it may help us to understand your mindset - Why did you not feel you had to / want to apologise for making the mistake of recording the meeting without letting the others in the meeting know? Sometimes, you just need to apologise, even when you don't think you should have to. And was there a reason you recorded it personally when you knew it was being recorded anyway, so you could have got the official copy to transcribe from?

As for us helping you to find another job, what is your degree in (sorry if I missed it)? What kind of work do you enjoy? Numerical? Literary? Do you like dealing face to face with customers or do you prefer being behind the scenes? What kind of level are you aiming for in the future as in base level? Managerial? CEO? I think you need something much more structured than consultancy, something you can learn and then, whilst not necessarily repetitive, has a strong similarity that is the basis for each piece of work. That way you can learn the structure and work from there without people having to use their time to hand-hold and double check you all the time. There is a job out there for you that you will enjoy and that you will be strong in. But you do need to realise, autistic or not, that nine months probabtion should be long enough to learn the ropes. And if it isn't, then it just isn't the right environment for you. And I would say that to anybody, ND or NT in the same position. Just because you want the job, doesn't mean it's the right one for you.

Black and white for me. Whats the point in a probation period if, after 6 or 9 months they feel you are not right for the job and they cant make a decision in the best interests of the company. 6-9 months they dont even need to provide a reason

Does the op have a union? I am not sure that consultancy is a profession with a strong union culture but could be wrong there.

6-9 months does seem a very long probationary period. I would think 1-3 is more standard and often seen as more of a formality. Given how long it is, it does feel like this is not a formality and something they actually use. Sounds like it was probably more of a fixed 6 month contract with the potential to make you permenant if it goes well. I could have interpreted it wrongly though.

No, it’s definitely a probation period in this case.

In the company I work for, a third of people fail the probation - after six months. It’s definitely not a formality. Everyone does have a degree, if not two, but it’s not a “grad training scheme”.

OP says it was 6 months and then they extended it for her (which took it to 9)

Wow, that's brutal! Can you say the sector?

Media. Lots of people, despite their good degrees from top universities, just aren’t up to it. We want to see both progress and quality in that probation time. They don’t have to have mastered the job at all.

Fuck! Makes perfect sense but ouch!

If you are used to reasonable adjustments at uni and your right to demand them you need to remember that at uni you were the customer. You were paying them.
It has probably given you a false idea of what reasonable adjustments are in the world of employment. It sounds like this role was just not a fit for you and your skill sets. I wouldn’t dwell on it or think it means you won’t be good in a different role. You are young -just move on.

Perhaps ask for some feedback on what areas you were best at and suggestions for what types of jobs to focus on for future roles.

That’s literal nonsense as well. The education system is not like a usual consumer to consumer relationship even though there is a cost involved.
If it was, I would just walk in and ask for the premium package where they give me my degree without me lifting a pen and pay them an extra 10 grand or something

You seem to have zero understanding of the seriousness of this breach, though a number of posters have pointed this out.

What do you expect the union to do? Say op can do what she wants with impunity?
whats “arbitrary” about expecting gdpr to be followed?

I see op has started a thread about ACAS early conciliation process and appeal - clutching at straws at best, and clearly not taken feedback from this thread on board. I fear history will simply repeat itself in their next role.

Its absolutely not nonsense. Yes, you have to work for a degree, but universities are definitely focused on getting people through if possible. Workplaces dont work the same way.