This year, 6 to 12 October marks ‘Dyslexia Awareness Week 2025’, a week which aims to increase understanding and awareness of dyslexia.
Dyslexia is a relatively common processing difference, estimated to affect at least one in ten people in the UK. It can affect the development of language related skills, leading to challenges with tasks involving spelling, reading and writing – letters might get jumbled up, written instructions can be trickier to follow, and staying organised might be a bit more of a struggle. But dyslexia also comes with many strengths, like creative thinking, problem-solving, and seeing the world in a refreshingly different way.
Whilst dyslexia, as a form of neurodivergence, is not in itself a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010 (EqA 2010), a person may be considered to have a ‘disability’ under the EqA 2010 if their dyslexia has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities, like reading, writing, or staying organised at work.
The impact of dyslexia can vary from person to person, so not everyone with dyslexia will necessarily meet the legal definition of disability. However, if it does meet the definition of being considered a ‘disability’ under the EqA 2010, then the employer is legally required to make reasonable adjustments to their work to ensure that any challenges they face are removed or mitigated, and they must not treat the employee unfairly because of those challenges linked to their condition.
This approach is supported by case law, including a case where the employment tribunal found that the claimant had been selected for redundancy for reasons which were related to her dyslexia, such as making mistakes in her work, struggling with balancing lots of work and her communication tone. Similarly, in another case, a dismissal was ruled discriminatory because the employee’s communication style, affected by dyslexia, was misunderstood.