How do we set up a neurodiversity employee network?

Start by recruiting a senior sponsor and a small volunteer team of neurodivergent staff and allies, agree a short purpose and accessible ways of meeting, then co-produce a neurodiversity policy with members. A neurodiversity network is a group where neurodivergent workers (people who are autistic or have ADHD, dyslexia or dyspraxia, among others) can share experiences, support each other and raise issues that need fixing. Acas, the UK workplace advice service, is clear that a network supports inclusion but never replaces the reasonable adjustments you are legally required to make.

First, find a sponsor and a small founding team

The highest-leverage first step is people, not a mission statement. Find a senior leader to sponsor the group so it has a budget, a route to decision-makers and visible backing. Then gather a handful of volunteers, neurodivergent colleagues who want it plus a few allies, rather than appointing a large committee. Keep it small enough to actually meet. The sponsor unblocks; the volunteers run it.

Then agree a short purpose and how you will meet accessibly

Write a short terms of reference, no more than a page, covering what the group is for, who can join, how often it meets and what it can and cannot decide. Decide whether it stands alone or sits within a wider disability network; Acas notes either works. Above all, design the way you meet with members, not for them.

1. Vary the channels. Offer a chat space and async options, not just live meetings, so people can take part in the way that suits them.
2. Make cameras optional and record sessions. Reduce the social and sensory load of attending.
3. Meet at a low frequency. Monthly or quarterly is plenty; a heavy meeting load quietly excludes the people the network exists for.

What makes it stick: back it with your legal duties

A friendly network does not discharge your obligations. Under section 20 of the Equality Act 2010, once a way of working puts a disabled worker at a substantial disadvantage you must take the reasonable steps to remove it, and you, not the worker, meet the cost. Being neurodivergent will often meet the disability test, and Acas confirms a worker does not need a diagnosis to be owed adjustments. So pair the network with real reasonable adjustments and a neurodiversity policy you co-produce with members, asking them what it should cover and how it should read. The business case is stark: in 2024/25 just 31.4% of disabled people whose main condition was autism were in work, against 82.5% of non-disabled people. A network that is co-produced and backed by action is how you start to close that gap.

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