Legal Rights

It is important to know your legal rights as you consider disclosure. For example, you may want to know what your university’s or employer’s legal obligations are when you disclose that you are autistic. Or you may experience discrimination after disclosing and want to know what you can do. While we cannot give you legal advice, we outline a few main relevant laws in the UK, along with resources and organisations that may help.

You may or may not consider yourself disabled, but autism is a recognised disability under the Equality Act 2010. This Act prohibits the following forms of discrimination against disabled people:

• Direct discrimination - being treated less favourably because you are autistic (e.g., an employer who decides not to hire you for the reason that you are autistic).
  
  

• Indirect discrimination - a policy or practice that disadvantages you compared to a non-autistic person (e.g., requiring all applicants to pass a psychometric test). This is unlawful unless the organisation can show there is a good, proportionate reason for the policy.
  
  

• Discrimination arising out of a disability - being treated unfavourably because of something that arises from your autism (e.g., dismissal for being absent due to autism-related anxiety). However, this does not apply if the organisation did not know, and could not reasonably have been expected to know, that you are autistic.
  
  

• Failure to make reasonable adjustments - an organisation failing to make reasonable changes so you can access jobs, education and other public services as easily as non-autistic people. Read more about what counts as reasonable, with examples. Again, this does not apply if the organisation did not know, and could not reasonably have been expected to know, that you are autistic.
  
  

• Harassment - being treated in an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive way.
  
  

• Victimisation - being treated unfairly or badly because you have made a complaint of discrimination under the Act. 

You are not legally required to tell anyone that you are autistic, even if they are in a position of authority. You may decide to tell someone for reasons such as gaining support or adjustments, but the choice is yours. The Equality Act 2010 also makes it unlawful for employers to ask applicants about their health or disability before offering you a job, unless the information is necessary for the application process or the role itself.