These questions come from search data, Reddit threads, and the conversations that reach tribunals when nobody gave a straight answer at the right moment. Each answer ends with a direct call: what to actually do, given what the law says.

UK and US law differ on several points. Where they do, both are covered separately.

Q1: Can my employer refuse adjustments without a formal diagnosis?

No. UK and US law both link the employer's duty to knowledge of the disability, not to a certificate.

Under the Equality Act 2010 (UK), the duty to make reasonable adjustments is triggered when an employer "knows or could reasonably be expected to know" about a disability. A written statement from you that you have dyslexia and that it affects specific tasks is enough. You don't need to hand over a psychologist's report before the duty kicks in.

Some employers push back here and ask for an "official assessment" before agreeing to anything. They're allowed to request supporting documentation, but they can't use that request as an indefinite stalling tactic while you wait for a report you haven't yet arranged. The duty applies from the moment of disclosure.

In the US, the ADA interactive process works on the same principle. An employer can ask for documentation, but the law requires them to engage with the accommodation request in good faith while that process runs.

Many dyslexic employees don't know what adjustments to request, or how to frame the request in a way that goes anywhere. The reasonable adjustments builder takes your specific challenges and generates a conversation plan and draft email in about two minutes.

Write to your manager or HR: state that you have dyslexia, name the specific tasks it affects, and ask what adjustments are available. Don't wait for a formal report before you make that request.

Q2: Do I have to tell HR, or can I just tell my manager?

Telling your line manager is legally sufficient.

Under the Equality Act 2010 (UK), knowledge held by a manager counts as employer knowledge. The duty to make reasonable adjustments is triggered by that conversation. You don't need to go through HR first, and HR doesn't need to sign off before your manager can start making changes.

That said, verbal conversations get misremembered. Line managers move on. An email confirming what was said (even a short one: "As we discussed, I have dyslexia, which affects X and Y. I'd like to explore adjustments for these tasks") creates a record that travels with your employment history regardless of who your manager is next year.

In the US, disclosure to a line manager is also sufficient to trigger the ADA interactive process. The same logic applies: get something in writing to protect yourself.

Tell whoever feels safest, then follow it up in writing within 48 hours. The written record matters more than the route you took to create it.

Q3: What happens if Access to Work is rejected?

You can challenge it. A rejection is not the final word.

The Access to Work rejection rate rose from approximately 24% in 2023-24 to around 33% in April-October 2024, according to disability sector reporting (The Big Issue, 2024). More than 1 in 3 applications were turned down in that period. A significant proportion of those decisions were overturned on review.

Your first step is mandatory reconsideration, which you can request within one month of the rejection decision. Write to the DWP case handler, set out why the decision was wrong, and attach any supporting evidence: a workplace needs assessment, a letter from a specialist assessor, or your employer's documentation of how your dyslexia affects your role.

If mandatory reconsideration fails, an independent review is available as a second stage. The process takes longer but has resulted in successful outcomes for applicants who were initially turned down.

Before you appeal, it's worth being clear on what you should be entitled to. The Access to Work calculator estimates your potential award so you know exactly what figure you're arguing for.

1 in 3

Access to Work applications were rejected in April-October 2024, up from approximately 1 in 4 in 2023-24. Source: The Big Issue / disability sector reports (2024).

Don't accept a rejection without requesting mandatory reconsideration. The process exists precisely because initial decisions are frequently overturned when challenged with evidence.

Q4: Can dyslexia affect my redundancy score?

Yes. The legal question is whether your employer adjusted for it before they scored you.

The M&S tribunal case (Jandu v Marks and Spencer, 2022) established the principle clearly: scoring a dyslexic employee on written communication quality, email tone, and accuracy without making adjustments for dyslexia is a failure to comply with the Equality Act 2010. M&S paid £53,855 for that failure.

Any scoring criterion that measures something your dyslexia directly affects must be adjusted before the score goes in. The adjustment required is not expensive equipment or a policy overhaul. It's simply not penalising someone for effects of their disability. That costs nothing. The M&S tribunal noted this explicitly.

The categories most commonly affected: written work quality, email clarity, response speed, meeting note-taking, and behaviour scores that interpret coping strategies (such as detailed written notes) as passivity or disengagement.

If you're in a redundancy process now, the disclosure decision guide covers the timing and framing of disclosure in exactly this kind of high-stakes context.

Disclose your dyslexia in writing before any redundancy scores are recorded. Ask your employer specifically to discount disability-related criteria. Keep every exchange in writing.

Q5: Is an employer allowed to ask if I'm dyslexic?

Pre-offer in the UK: no.

Section 60 of the Equality Act 2010 prohibits employers from asking health or disability questions before a job offer has been made. The ban covers application forms, phone screens, and every stage of the interview process. An employer who asks about dyslexia before an offer is made is acting unlawfully under that provision.

Post-offer, the rules change. Employers can ask health questions after making an offer, provided they ask all candidates the same questions and don't use the answers to withdraw the offer without medical justification. If an offer is withdrawn after a post-offer disability disclosure, the burden shifts to the employer to prove the withdrawal was not discriminatory.

In the US, the ADA similarly prohibits disability-related questions at the pre-offer stage and permits limited post-offer health enquiries.

If asked about dyslexia before a job offer in the UK, you're under no legal obligation to answer. You can choose to disclose, but declining is your right, and the question itself is unlawful.

Q6: Does disclosure help or hurt job applications?

The legal math in the UK points toward disclosing after the offer, not before.

Pre-offer, employers can't legally ask about disabilities (s.60, as above). If you volunteer dyslexia information pre-offer, the employer isn't supposed to use it in their hiring decision, but discrimination at the application stage is real and demonstrably difficult to prove. A candidate rejected after disclosing dyslexia faces a substantial burden of evidence to establish the link.

Post-offer disclosure is a different calculation entirely. Once you have the offer in writing and you disclose your dyslexia, the employer's duty to make adjustments is triggered. Withdrawing the offer specifically because of the disability disclosure is automatically unlawful. You're on much stronger legal ground.

There are situations where pre-offer disclosure makes sense: roles where dyslexia-specific support is required from day one, employers with strong accessibility commitments, or cases where the application process itself requires an adjustment. For most job applications, though, the offer is the safer moment.

For job applications in the UK, disclose after the offer is in writing rather than before. The disclosure decision guide works through the specific factors that shift this calculation for your situation.

Q7: How long does an Access to Work assessment take?

The honest answer: longer than it should, and the gap has widened.

The process runs in stages. You apply, DWP checks eligibility, an assessment is arranged if needed, and the award decision follows. Each stage has its own queue. The full cycle from application to a confirmed award has typically run to several weeks in straightforward cases, and several months when backlogs are heavy.

Budget pressure has made this worse. The Access to Work budget was cut by 12% in the 2024-25 spending review (British Dyslexia Association, October 2024), and the BDA has documented growing backlogs as a result. An application made now may not produce a confirmed award for three to four months in a heavy-demand period.

Access to Work can backdate support to your application date, which helps on costs. But the equipment or software agreed in the award can't assist you until the decision is confirmed. Waiting until you're struggling in a role means months of uncompensated difficulty.

Apply as early as possible, ideally before your employment start date or as soon as you identify a need. Don't wait until the problem has compounded. The Access to Work calculator gives you an estimate of your award before you apply, so you know what you're asking for.