How do we run a neurodiversity audit of our workplace?

The first move: scope it and get honest baseline data

Run a neurodiversity audit in five steps: scope it, gather honest feedback from neurodivergent staff, review recruitment, policies and environment against the Equality Act, then build and monitor a dated action plan. Start by writing down what the audit covers and who owns it, then collect a genuine baseline. Ask staff anonymously where work gets harder than it needs to, which tools and processes trip people up, and what small changes would help. Crucially, design every question so a worker can answer without naming a condition. A worker does not need a diagnosis to be considered disabled under the Equality Act 2010, and you should never make support conditional on one Acas.

The second move: review four areas against the duty

With the baseline in hand, review your workplace against the duty your audit exists to meet. The Equality Act requires you to review any provision, criterion or practice (in plain terms, the way you do things) that puts a disabled person at a substantial disadvantage, alongside physical features and the absence of helpful aids Equality Act 2010, s.20. An audit is the practical way to find and fix those barriers before someone is disadvantaged or has to complain. Work through four core areas:

1. Recruitment. Do adverts say candidates can ask for adjustments and need no diagnosis? Are tests and interviews fair to people who process information differently?
2. Policies. Do absence, performance, probation and disclosure policies build in flexibility, and were neurodivergent staff involved in writing them?
3. Work environment. Lighting, noise, hot-desking, meeting style and communication norms.
4. Universal support and training. Are managers trained, and is support built so staff benefit without having to disclose?

Free, authoritative frameworks anchor this. The Acas neuroinclusion guidance sets out exactly these areas, and the Buckland Review of Autism Employment (2024) makes 19 recommendations and points to the Autistica Neurodiversity Employers Index as a benchmark to measure against. You can self-audit for free using these, or commission a specialist if you want an external view.

The output: a dated action plan you actually monitor

Turn findings into recommendations, then into a dated action plan with named owners. Be honest about what you cannot change overnight, but commit to dates rather than intentions. Then implement and review: Acas is clear that you should monitor the things you put in place to make sure they are having a positive effect. An audit that produces a tidy report and no tracked changes has not discharged anything. Re-run the lighter version yearly so the baseline keeps moving.

This page is general information, not clinical or legal advice.