Rights at work for young people with disability, autism or ADHD
If your child has disability or ADHD, is autistic, or has other additional needs, they have protected rights at work, just like all employees. These protected rights include being free from discrimination at work.
To find out how to ensure respect for your child’s rights at work, go to Fair Work Ombudsman – Protection from discrimination at work.
Should your child tell employers about their workplace needs?
Your child can choose whether and when to tell employers about their additional needs. There are a few things for your child to think about as they decide what to do.
Your child might need to think about their personal strengths and their support needs. Your child might consider whether they could do the job well without support or whether support would help them do it better.
Another thing to think about is the organisation’s reputation for hiring, supporting and including employees with additional needs like disability, ADHD or autism.
Your child could use this information to draw up a list of the pros and cons of telling an employer about their needs. For example:
- Pros might include additional support or adjustments so your child can do the job well. This could help your child keep the job. Pros might also include supervisors and colleagues having a better understanding of how your child might behave or perform at work.
- Cons might include the risk that employers or colleagues will make negative assumptions about your child’s abilities. Or your child might not feel comfortable sharing personal information.
Whatever your child decides, they have no legal obligation to tell potential employers about their additional needs. And employers don’t have the right to ask or know. It’s about deciding what’s going to be best for your child in that workplace.
Your child might need to speak up for themselves and their employment rights. This is called self-advocacy, and you can help your child develop the skills they need to do it. These skills include decision-making, goal-setting, confidence and self-awareness.
Reasonable adjustments for disability, ADHD or autism in the workplace
Your child is entitled to reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process, tasks, hours, equipment and environment to ensure they get the understanding and support they need to be successful at work. If your child tells their employer about their additional needs, they’ll be able to ask for these adjustments.
Common workplace adjustments for disability, autism, ADHD or other additional needs
- Disability awareness training for managers and key colleagues
- A buddy, coach or mentor for additional support
- Flexible working arrangements like the option to work from home, start earlier or later, or work reduced hours
- Assistive technology like speech-to-text software, screen readers or digital recorders
- Communication options to help with learning new tasks, processes and information, including written, visual and verbal forms of communication
- Adjustments to the physical environment like changing the lighting, modifying the desk, moving the desk, providing a quiet place, or allowing noise-cancelling headphones
- Support with setting up schedules and routines, checklists or to-do lists
- Help with breaking down large projects into smaller tasks
The NDIS and employment
The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) funds reasonable and necessary supports to help people with disability reach goals throughout life, including employment goals.
Employment supports funded by the NDIS might include:
- personal care at work, like assistance with meals
- aids and equipment, like wheelchairs, speech-to-text software and noise-cancelling headphones
- transition-to-work supports that employers can’t reasonably provide, like transport or training relating to travel to and from work
- individual employment support for people who might not be eligible for Disability Employment Services (DES)
- supports for people with disability to work when they’re otherwise unlikely to find ongoing work.
The NDIS also might also fund:
- on-the-job support in the workplace
- employment-related assessment and counselling
- individual and group employment support
- job-specific skill development
- support for employment-related skill development, like social and behaviour skills
- school leaver employment supports.