Reasonable adjustments for dyspraxia at work

How the Equality Act applies to dyspraxia

Dyspraxia, also called developmental coordination disorder, affects motor coordination and often organisation, sequencing and processing speed. It is less widely understood than the other conditions in this cluster, which shows up at work as scepticism: colleagues can see the typo-strewn document or the knocked-over coffee, and cannot see the extra planning the person spent to get that far. Legally the position is the same as for any condition: the Equality Act 2010 protects anyone whose impairment has a substantial, long-term effect on day-to-day activities, judged for the individual and without their coping strategies. The neurodivergence hub covers the test, and the point that no diagnosis is needed before support can be discussed.

Barriers and the adjustments that address them

Physical workspace and fine motor load come first. An ergonomic assessment is the obvious starting point: keyboard and mouse alternatives, a properly adjusted chair and desk, and equipment positioned so that carrying, reaching and threading through cluttered walkways is minimised. In manual roles, the same thinking applies to tools and layout: stable surfaces, jigs or holders for fiddly assembly, and rotas that do not stack the highest-dexterity tasks into fatigue hours. Extra time for tasks that demand fine coordination is often the most honest adjustment available.

Writing and recording are frequent flashpoints because handwriting is often slow and effortful. Laptops instead of handwritten notes, dictation software, templates that reduce free-form writing, and permission to record meetings rather than minute them live all remove the barrier. Like the equivalent adjustments for dyslexia, these widen the channel rather than lowering the standard.

Organisation and sequencing respond to structure. Multi-step processes documented as checklists, one task tracker rather than instructions scattered across chat, email and memory, planning tools, and a manager who breaks large deliverables into stages all reduce the executive load that dyspraxia taxes. Predictable routines help here too: the fewer things that must be re-planned each day, the more capacity is left for the work itself.

Where equipment, software or coaching is needed, Access to Work can fund a workplace assessment and much of what it recommends, including travel-to-work support where commuting is the barrier. Employers should check that route before treating cost as decisive.

What tends not to work

• Reading slowness or spilled coffee as carelessness. Effort is exactly what dyspraxic employees are already spending most of.
• Handwritten processes kept for tradition: paper forms, wall charts, live minute-taking by rota.
• Workstation assessments that are done once and never revisited after a desk move or equipment refresh.
• Team-building built around physical dexterity, then treating opt-outs as poor engagement.

Making the adjustments stick

Dyspraxia adjustments are heavily physical and tool-based, which makes them fragile in exactly one way: office moves, hot-desking and hardware refreshes undo them without anyone deciding to. Record the setup, name an owner, and review after any change of desk, building or equipment. The hub page covers how to run the adjustment conversation itself; for dyspraxia, involving an ergonomic or workplace assessor early usually shortens the whole process.

This guide is general guidance, not legal advice. For advice on a specific situation, speak to an employment law specialist, ACAS or the EHRC.