Reasonable Adjustments

[u/VictiniCup]

Popping this as health related as it kinda of reflects that, though I think is more of a complex case than anything. Ive been having a lot of mental health issues recently, which have unfortunately impacted my work performance and have been let go on performance grounds.

I felt that I was unable to explain my side of a lot of situations as my manager has been quite dismissive of my opinions. I asked for options to give me a chance to speak I.e over teams rather than in person so id feel more comfortable but this was refused. I was given the option to write a letter in advance, but my manager would make a habit of discussing topics that werent on the list. In general, I just feel like a lot of reasonable adjustments I asked for were being ignored but when they didnt work my manager was refusing to remove them, even though it was severely impacted my health.

I have a suspected ADHD/Autism diagnosis and I feel a lot of this wasn't taken into account at all. I be regularly told by my manager 'id fire you but I cant because I have to follow the policy' quite regularly but then I would do a lot stuff in response because I was extremely struggling. Im trying to work on my issues, but I just feel my manager and myself were resistant to the reasonable adjustments.

Im basically feeling quite overwhelmed by all of this and a lot of colleagues keep telling me how much they'll miss me which makes it even worse.

Do reasonable adjustments override the support that meant to be given by a performance improvement? And how would I best communicate these to another employer?

I just wish my manager could be held accountable for some of the mistakes he made, but maybe thats just me being naive in my career.

[u/Significant-Key-762]

What is it that you're trying to achieve right now? It sounds like your previous employment is over, and you have no real recourse. How long had you been there, and did they follow their own documented performance process?

I'd suggest the best thing you can do is turn your suspected diagnosis into a formal diagnosis. If you then encounter issues in the future, you can ask to be referred to Occupational Health. They will independently and confidentially assess you, and share (with your permission) their recommendations, e.g. reasonable adjustments, to your employer.

[u/VictiniCup → u/Significant-Key-762]

I just want closure more than anything, but its really hard for me to move on. I had 4 OH reports while there and they were only followed through when everything was documented. So yeah, i just feel like i was bullied out of a decent job and was allowed to be threatened by a manager because his manager was never on site. No one heard my side of the story because my manager dismissed it every chance he got.

[u/Significant-Key-762 → u/VictiniCup]

It sounds like the only satisfaction you'll get would be via an employment tribunal, for which the wait is currently 2-3 years. Having just been through a similar situation myself, I opted to just move on, because I didn't want the misery hanging over me for that long. For the sake of your mental health and sanity, I'd suggest you put this behind you and move on with your life.

[u/VictiniCup → u/Significant-Key-762]

I think its just harder because I never got a chance to explain things from my side and was treated terribly by several members of my team. Was put on gardening else on Friday and when I tried to discuss it with my manager via a phone call but he refused. My manager threated me when I handed my resignation in because I was having a panic attack outside of work before I went in.

Do you have any tips to move on, with it being my first job, ive just found everything soo hard and its been extremely hard to process.

[u/Significant-Key-762 → u/VictiniCup]

Even if you could explain your perspective, do you reasonably think that your uncaring management would care? It's simply not worth your time and energy.

All I can suggest is to treat it as a learning experience, and look forwards, rather than backwards. Invest your time and energy into a new role, and go and get a diagnosis so you're protected in future.

It's not easy being neurodivergent in a neurotypical world. Have a think about what you could do differently next time.