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 that you are autistic 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 and point you to other resources that may be useful and organisations that may be able to help.

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

• Direct discrimination happens when someone treats you less favourably than they would treat a non-autisic person because you are autistic. An example of this might be an employer who decides not to hire you for the reason that you are autistic.
  
  

• Indirect discrimination happens when an organisation has a policy or practice that puts you at a disadvantage compared to a non-autistic person. This is unlawful unless the organisation is able to show there is a good reason for the policy and it is proportionate. An example of this might be an employer who requires all applicants for a particular job to pass a psychometric test.
  
  

• Discrimination arising out of a disability happens when you are treated unfavourably as a result of something arising as a consequence of your autism. An example of this might be an employer who dismisses you for being absent due to anxiety, and this anxiety is linked to your autism. However, this provision does not apply if the person or organisation did not know, and could not reasonably have been expected to know, that you are autistic.
  
  

• Failure to make reasonable adjustments happens when an organisation fails to make reasonable adjustments to ensure that you can access jobs, education and other public services as easily as non-autistic people. What is considered reasonable in the context will depend on a number of factors. Again, this duty does not apply if the organisation did not know, and could not reasonably have been expected to know, that you are autistic.
  
  

• Harassment happens when you are treated in an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive way.
  
  

• Victimisation happens when you are treated unfairly or badly because you have made a complaint of discrimination under the Equality Act. 

Remember that you are not legally required to tell anyone that you are autistic. After going through this guide, you may decide to tell some people for reasons such as gaining support or accommodations, but you do not have to tell anyone if you choose not to. You do not have to tell someone simply because they are in a position of authority. The Equality Act 2010 also makes it unlawful for employers to ask applicants about their health or disability until they have been offered a job, unless the information is necessary for the application process or a requirement of the job.