Autism Acceptance Month

As an employer, you can help make the world a more autism-friendly place. We know that many of you are leading the way and making great progress in adapting your practice and making small adjustments that make a big difference to autistic employees.

Recruitment procedures often inadvertently create obstacles for autistic individuals. Organisations can implement minor adjustments to their processes to facilitate job applications for autistic candidates and allow them to showcase their skills as potential employees. These adjustments may also benefit other candidates and improve overall recruitment efficiency.

By taking these simple steps, organisations will comply with the Equality Act (2010) and the Northern Ireland Disability Discrimination Act, which require employers to make 'reasonable adjustments' for people with disabilities.

Job descriptions frequently include skills that are not essential for the job's effective performance. Attributes like 'excellent communication skills' or 'good team player' are often listed as default requirements, even when unnecessary – dissuading many autistic individuals from applying for such roles. Consequently, suitable candidates may wrongly assume themselves to be unsuitable for a position, despite possessing relevant skills.

It is not always clear what information applicants need to provide on an application form. Providing clear guidance on this and ensuring the form includes a section for applicants to specify any support or adjustments they may require during an interview is crucial. When requesting applicants to detail their skills or suitability for a role, incorporating a word count limit can be beneficial.

Interviews, particularly 'traditional' conversational-type interviews, heavily rely on social and communication skills. Consequently, autistic candidates may well struggle to 'sell themselves' in an interview, even if they possess all the right skills. In particular, they may face challenges with:

• Understanding body language and maintaining appropriate eye contact.
• Knowing how to start, maintain, and end conversations or answers to questions.
• Judging how much information to give – especially if questions are open.
• Thinking in abstract ways or considering 'what if?' scenarios.
• Varying their tone of voice and finding the appropriate level of formality.

• Avoiding general questions (e.g., 'Tell me about yourself').
• Asking specific questions based on the candidate's real or past experiences, such as 'In your last job, did you handle any filing or data input?' or 'What processes/procedures did you employ to do this effectively?'
• Avoiding hypothetical or abstract questions, for example, 'How do you think you'll manage working if there are numerous interruptions?' Instead, ask, 'Recall your last job. Can you describe how you handled your work when interrupted?'
• Informing the candidate if they are talking excessively, as they may struggle to gauge the appropriate amount of information needed. For instance, 'Thank you, you've provided us with sufficient detail on that topic, and I'd like to pose another question.'
• Prompting the candidate to extract all relevant information and gather sufficient data.
• Being mindful that the candidate may interpret language literally; for instance, asking, 'How did you find your last job?' might elicit a response like 'I used a map.'
• Recognising that eye contact may vary from fleeting to prolonged, depending on the individual.
• Providing adequate breaks during lengthy interviews and encouraging the interviewee to take breaks as needed.
• Allowing and prompting the candidate to refer to any written notes they have made during the interview.