Does this count as a disability disclosure?

LostTheMarbles

I had a monthly review with my manager back in January where he became very aggressive, claiming that I was being disruptive, slowing the project down on purpose. It was all on the back of a code review I'd carried out on his work which had found some serious quality issues which needed to be addressed.

Eventually, the meeting got to the point where I felt I had no other option to talk about my autism, something I usually avoid doing as it often just gets in the way. We talked very quickly about the issues I was facing at the time but the meeting was already heated from his side so I’m not sure how much he took in. Eventually, I asked to end the meeting as I felt he’d lost control of his actions.

He wrote up his notes straight after the meeting in a tone that tried to frame me as an underperformer while at the same time, defending his own position, leaving out any mention of my autism disclosure. At this point, I turned on change tracking on the document and replied, giving my own side of the story, also adding in that we’d discussed my autistic characteristics and how they were causing issues in the workplace.

After a quick mediation between myself, my manager and his manager, we agreed that he’d treated me unfairly, resulting in the notes being replaced with a much more positive review, no negativity at all but also, no mention of autism. The previous notes never made it into the system.

Six months later, I found out that my manager had been collecting evidence against me for a Personal Improvement Plan. The fact that he’d not discussed the evidence with me at the time eventually meant that the PIP didn’t go ahead but unfortunately, he was allowed to leave the evidence on my profile in the form of feedback. This has now been used to justify a poor annual review which will negatively impact my pay review and bonus.

One thing I found out while defending myself against the PIP is that HR weren’t made aware of our discussion around autism back in January, they were completely unaware of the issue until I brought it up again in July. Since then, I’ve been through the OH process and a referral meeting which has confirmed that my condition is valid.

At this point, my question is: Does the discussion back in January count as a disclosure? 

The only place I have any of this in writing is in a comment I made on the notes my manager sent after the meeting, the updated document was sent back to him via e-mail. Is that enough to prove that I made the disclosure?

Undervalued

LostTheMarbles said:

I had a monthly review with my manager back in January where he became very aggressive, claiming that I was being disruptive, slowing the project down on purpose. It was all on the back of a code review I'd carried out on his work which had found some serious quality issues which needed to be addressed.

Eventually, the meeting got to the point where I felt I had no other option to talk about my autism, something I usually avoid doing as it often just gets in the way. We talked very quickly about the issues I was facing at the time but the meeting was already heated from his side so I’m not sure how much he took in. Eventually, I asked to end the meeting as I felt he’d lost control of his actions.

He wrote up his notes straight after the meeting in a tone that tried to frame me as an underperformer while at the same time, defending his own position, leaving out any mention of my autism disclosure. At this point, I turned on change tracking on the document and replied, giving my own side of the story, also adding in that we’d discussed my autistic characteristics and how they were causing issues in the workplace.

After a quick mediation between myself, my manager and his manager, we agreed that he’d treated me unfairly, resulting in the notes being replaced with a much more positive review, no negativity at all but also, no mention of autism. The previous notes never made it into the system.

Six months later, I found out that my manager had been collecting evidence against me for a Personal Improvement Plan. The fact that he’d not discussed the evidence with me at the time eventually meant that the PIP didn’t go ahead but unfortunately, he was allowed to leave the evidence on my profile in the form of feedback. This has now been used to justify a poor annual review which will negatively impact my pay review and bonus.

One thing I found out while defending myself against the PIP is that HR weren’t made aware of our discussion around autism back in January, they were completely unaware of the issue until I brought it up again in July. Since then, I’ve been through the OH process and a referral meeting which has confirmed that my condition is valid.

At this point, my question is: Does the discussion back in January count as a disclosure? 

The only place I have any of this in writing is in a comment I made on the notes my manager sent after the meeting, the updated document was sent back to him via e-mail. Is that enough to prove that I made the disclosure?

Generally speaking no.

It only proves that you claim you made such a "disclosure" at the meeting - which isn't the same thing! His recollection of the meeting may be very different and the fact that he hasn't responded to your email disputing your claim doesn't prove he has accepted it.

The general principle is that you can't force the terms of a contract by the silence of the other party. So saying "Unless I hear from you to the contrary you have agreed to X, Y and Z. won't normally stand up in court. 

socialbutterfly1

If you have it in writing and sent it to your line manager then generally speaking, this would be evidence of your disclosure. You would be protected by the equality act 2010 as you have a condition. It’s always best to seek legal advice in this type of situation, as they have best knowledge of the act and how you would be protected by it, and not from a forum like this really. 

Also see https://www.mondaq.com/uk/discrimination-disability-sexual-harassment/780490/constructive-knowledge-of-disability-when-should-employers-reasonably-know-of-an-employee39s-disability

Manxman_in_exile

socialbutterfly1 said:

If you have it in writing and sent it to your line manager then generally speaking, this would be evidence of your disclosure. You would be protected by the equality act 2010 as you have a condition. It’s always best to seek legal advice in this type of situation, as they have best knowledge of the act and how you would be protected by it, and not from a forum like this really. 

Also see https://www.mondaq.com/uk/discrimination-disability-sexual-harassment/780490/constructive-knowledge-of-disability-when-should-employers-reasonably-know-of-an-employee39s-disability

I think you may have misunderstood the OP's question(?).

The OP had a meeting with their manager in January at which the OP claims that they disclosed their disability.  The manager sent a note of their meeting to the OP but the note said nothing about the OP claiming a disability.  The OP returned the note to their manager together with comments indicating that the manager's note of the meeting omitted the disability disclosure made by the OP.  The manager made no further response to the OP's comments about the omission.

I don't think it's a question of whether the OP has told their manager in writing that they have a disability, it's a question of whether the manager's failure to respond to the OP's claimed correction of the meeting note means that the manager can be taken to accept that there was a disclosure made at that meeting.  Undervalued, for instance, thinks not.

At least I think that's what it's about...(!)

Undervalued

Manxman_in_exile said:

socialbutterfly1 said:

If you have it in writing and sent it to your line manager then generally speaking, this would be evidence of your disclosure. You would be protected by the equality act 2010 as you have a condition. It’s always best to seek legal advice in this type of situation, as they have best knowledge of the act and how you would be protected by it, and not from a forum like this really. 

Also see https://www.mondaq.com/uk/discrimination-disability-sexual-harassment/780490/constructive-knowledge-of-disability-when-should-employers-reasonably-know-of-an-employee39s-disability

I think you may have misunderstood the OP's question(?).

The OP had a meeting with their manager in January at which the OP claims that they disclosed their disability.  The manager sent a note of their meeting to the OP but the note said nothing about the OP claiming a disability.  The OP returned the note to their manager together with comments indicating that the manager's note of the meeting omitted the disability disclosure made by the OP.  The manager made no further response to the OP's comments about the omission.

I don't think it's a question of whether the OP has told their manager in writing that they have a disability, it's a question of whether the manager's failure to respond to the OP's claimed correction of the meeting note means that the manager can be taken to accept that there was a disclosure made at that meeting.  Undervalued, for instance, thinks not.

At least I think that's what it's about...(!)

Exactly.

It would ultimately depend on the context and the exact wording but if the OP wants to disclose a disability then he would be well advised to do so clearly and unambiguously in writing.

I certainly wouldn't rely on "should reasonably have been aware" for something like autism (which sadly is widely misunderstood). Anybody can claim they said anything in a one to one meeting and something important like this should have been the subject of a specific meeting, backed up with evidence and confirmed in writing.

The OP said....

Eventually, the meeting got to the point where I felt I had no other option to talk about my autism, something I usually avoid doing as it often just gets in the way.

Realistically, if challenged, the manager is likely to deny it was mentioned.

I assume the OP has a formal medical diagnosis of his condition that pre-dates the meeting when he claims to have told his manager?

Masomnia

I think whether or not it was mentioned at the meeting is a red herring. If the OP told them afterwards in writing then they're aware, and really the employer has just shot themselves in the foot by ignoring it and if anything making themselves look worse by taking it out with no explanation.

robatwork

Can someone clarify employment law for me?

From a standpoint of common sense, I would have thought a declaration of a disability would have to be something relatively formal - for example a meeting, called by the employee, specifically to discuss the matter. And at that meeting the employee would disclose their disability, and provide some medical evidence of it that the employer can keep on file.

Mentioning "I have autism" in passing at a meeting about something else, with nothing to back up the assertion, surely wouldn't qualify as disclosure even if documented that it was said?

Masomnia

robatwork said:

Can someone clarify employment law for me?

From a standpoint of common sense, I would have thought a declaration of a disability would have to be something relatively formal - for example a meeting, called by the employee, specifically to discuss the matter. And at that meeting the employee would disclose their disability, and provide some medical evidence of it that the employer can keep on file.

Mentioning "I have autism" in passing at a meeting about something else, with nothing to back up the assertion, surely wouldn't qualify as disclosure even if documented that it was said?

It really depends on the facts of the case, but why would you need to make a 'formal' disclosure? If someone turned up in a wheelchair for work would they need to formally disclose that they had a disability? If they didn't, could you fairly dismiss for a reason connected to it and claim that they hadn't made a disclosure so how could you have known? Obviously not, and the principle is the same with less obvious disabilities in that if they are made aware of a disability the onus is on them to make reasonable adjustments. The onus is not on the employee to ask for them. If anything asking people to make a formal declaration could be discrimination in itself.

You can defend yourself if you can show that you did not 'reasonably know' that the person in question had the disability, which is why I disagree with the first few posts on here. The employer can argue till the cows come home that it wasn't raised at the meeting, but it was raised in the email, so it doesn't matter; the employer would struggle to show that it could not reasonably have known that OP had a disability, because they did raise it.