We’re proud to have contributed to a new toolkit created by Dr Christine Grant of Coventry University.
Developed in collaboration with Vodafone, NHS Employers, Costain, and the UK Atomic Energy Authority, the toolkit is designed to help line managers better support their disabled and/or neurodivergent remote workers.
The toolkit is the result of extensive research conducted through the Remote4All Project, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council’s Centre for Digital Futures at Work Research Centre.
Dr Grant’s research highlights a key gap in how line managers support disabled and neurodivergent workers—particularly when it comes to remote work. Her findings, which she shared in Parliament last year, underscore how remote working can be a powerful enabler of inclusion—if implemented thoughtfully.
The toolkit provides practical, evidence-based guidance for Line Managers. It covers how to initiate meaningful conversations about remote working, how to run inclusive meetings, and how to reduce the risk of isolation for those working from home.
The toolkit
The key aims of the toolkit are to:
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Support line managers who are currently — or may in the future be — managing disabled and/or neurodivergent remote workers.
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Build line managers’ understanding of remote working as an effective reasonable adjustment.
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Offer practical guidance on having meaningful conversations with disabled and/or neurodivergent employees about remote working as an adjustment.
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Amplify the voices of disabled and/or neurodivergent workers, helping to reduce stigma around requesting and using remote working to access and sustain employment.
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Serve as a reliable, up-to-date resource for line managers supporting disabled and/or neurodivergent remote workers.
Flexible Working - Linkedin Live
Dr Christine Grant joined us for our recent LinkedIn Live exploring how flexible working can benefit the neurodivergent community. Our expert panel, Bronwyn Thompson (Assoc CIPD) and Coventry University professor Dr Christine Grant discussed the concept of the four-day workweek plus some practical strategies for creating inclusive workplaces, with our host Donna Stevenson.
Together, they covered the benefits and challenges of flexible working, how employees can start conversations about it, and why these approaches are key to neuroinclusion.
You can catch up on the conversation here.
About the author
Deborah is an Honorary Research Fellow in the Centre for Healthcare and Communities at Coventry University and works with academic research partners on impact-driven research projects, developing our research and innovation agenda.
She has a Ph.D. in dyslexia, performance training, and inclusion from the University of Kent. Her practice-based research has been published in several peer-reviewed journals, books, and toolkits (including Routledge, and the British Dyslexia Association).
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