Disability Disclosure

 Bucks is committed to ensuring that all employees with a recognized disability, including dyslexia, are treated fairly under the Disability Discrimination Act. To this end the formal disclosure of a disability can bring about benefits to all.

Many employees choose not to disclose their disability sometimes for fear of discrimination, sometimes because they are able to manage their workload or don't require any additional support. However, every individual's situation can change for a variety of reasons and this may impact on their decision or need to disclose.

We are keen to create an environment where individuals can feel confident that when disclosing a disability, impairment, or medical condition to us they would not be disadvantaged.  You might like to visit our page on Disability Definitions for further guidance.

Disclosure can occur at any time and the following factors are some or the reasons why individuals choose to disclose to their employer:

• their personal circumstances may change, such as acquiring a disability or medical condition
• they may experience a progression of their disability
• they may feel more comfortable and confident about disclosing once an environment is familiar
• they may be confident to disclose their disability knowing that it will not lead to discriminatory attitudes and actions
• their job and conditions may have changed e.g. moving to a new work location, agreeing to take on additional duties, a new manager and/or new colleagues, any of which may highlight issues in relation to a disability
• they may identify a specific support that may not have been available when they commenced the job e.g. new software or hardware
• they may not be performing well in the job due to their disability and may need to explain the situation to their employer

An employee may choose NOT to disclose their disability whilst they are employed in a job because:

• they can manage their job and the impact of their disability, without additional support or assistance
• they may have put in place adequate external structures to ensure that their disability does not impede their job
• they may feel they would be treated differently or their disability would be perceived in a negative or discriminatory manner
• their disability may be in remission and therefore not considered relevant to their current position of employment
• they feel that they will be discriminated against or seen as less competent in the job

We hope that the benefits of disclosure will encourage more employees to do so.  You can formally disclose by amending your personal details on the Human Resources portal. You should then contact Human Resources and/or your line manager to discuss the barriers which you may have encountered in working life and what reasonable adjustments might need to be made. It is also advisable to contact Access to Work, to see what other help and support they might be able to recommend.