Recognition is a good start, but employers can go further to ensure dyslexia is no longer discriminated against in the workplace, argues Euan Cameron.

Earlier this month, an airport engineer won the first stage of an employment tribunal where it was found that his employer refused to accept his dyslexia as a disability.

As an entrepreneur with over 20 employees who has struggled with dyslexia all his life, it was disappointing to hear about this kind of attitude in the modern workplace.

In 2024, there really should be no excuse for an employer to ignore this obligation – a legal requirement under the Equality Act 2010.

Request for adjustments

The circumstances of the tribunal, which will meet again to decide whether or not the engineer was discriminated against, revolve around a training course he was required to take.

Dyslexia was not an option on the disability list in the pre-course documentation and the engineer said requests for special measures to allow him to complete the course were refused.

These included a request for the text to be in red and to use his mobile phone for assistance in open-book exams – which he described as a coping mechanism.

The severity of the engineer’s dyslexia was also questioned in court, with lawyers citing the fact that “high-functioning” professionals such as doctors or lawyers who were able to perform their jobs were not considered disabled.

But this misses the key point. Dyslexia is a disability and not one that anyone would wish to have. Personally, I suffered embarrassment, damaged self-esteem and anxiety attacks in my younger years as a result of not being able to easily do what many others can without thinking – read and write.

Overcoming challenges

At one point I was told I wouldn’t make it out of high school, let alone university, and some of my worst experiences with dyslexia are compatible with the circumstances described in this case.

Exams were a recurring nightmare and although I was given extra time, it often came with distractions such as invigilators tidying up or chatting in the exam hall. In some cases, the extra time was overlooked or conflicted with the start of another exam, making it unnecessary.

It was an example of the bad old days when dyslexia was not fully understood as it is now.

I learned to live and thrive despite my dyslexia and also pushed myself into business to make employment and the workplace more accessible for all.

As with all physical or neurological disabilities, people with dyslexia are not looking for an advantage through measures taken to accommodate their needs, but an equal footing, and fortunately they can usually find it.

There have been significant advances in the understanding and acceptance of dyslexia in recent years, and where it was once rarely discussed in educational and work settings, it can now be talked about more openly.

Changing the conversation

It has gotten so far that instead of hiding it, people with dyslexia will often signal their dyslexia in an email signature to help others understand.

With around 10% of the UK population living with dyslexia and around one in six people struggling with poor reading skills, the conversation has turned to acceptance and support. This wider awareness has helped create a more inclusive environment for those with dyslexia in the workplace.

Recognition and support around dyslexia in the workplace is one thing, but the next step is to evolve the workplace so that the condition is no longer a significant factor at all.

Steps such as reducing reliance on written communication and adopting alternative media such as audio and video are key.

This may involve using text-to-speech software for long documents or replacing internal chat tools with short video messages. I fully expect to see these practices more widely adopted as time goes on.

Normalizing new approaches

At Willo, where, coincidentally, around 50% of our workforce lives with dyslexia, long documents are often converted to audio and we don’t ask candidates in the hiring process to use a traditional CV.

Instead, they send short videos, which takes the pressure off writing a resume or cover letter.

More broadly, most books are now available in multiple formats—text, audio, large print, and braille—making accessibility the standard, not the exception.

This normalization reduces the stigma of requesting accommodation for dyslexia and promotes inclusion. The same principles apply in the workplace.

Continuing to raise awareness and encourage people to consider the needs of others will help ensure that accommodation for those with dyslexia becomes common practice, empowering everyone to participate equally in society.

I’m an optimist and like to think that examples of dyslexia being downplayed or dismissed in the workplace are the exception rather than the rule. I think we are much further on our way to acceptance of dyslexia, both in society and in the workplace.

Ultimately, it is up to employers and their teams to take their responsibilities around dyslexia – and disability in general – seriously to ensure we complete the journey.

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