A manager and an employee in a relaxed one-to-one conversation at a table

Neurodiversity workplace assessment

Neurodiversity workplace assessments for employers

When a neurodivergent employee is capable but struggling, the problem is usually the fit between how they work and how the role is set up. Your employee completes two short questionnaires, then has a remote assessment with an occupational therapist, who finds where that fit breaks down and what to change.

Submit a Case Book a Free Employer Discovery Call

Not ready? Discuss a Case First

Registered, verified clinicians
Independent & impartial
GDPR-compliant
UK-wide
Employee consent-based

What is a neurodiversity workplace assessment?

It is a practical assessment of how an employee works best and what gets in the way at work. It covers the things that matter day to day: the working environment, starting and organising tasks, taking in spoken information, handling change, energy across the day, and working with colleagues.

It is not a diagnosis, and the employee does not need one. It is for anyone whose way of thinking, processing or communicating is affecting their work, whether they have a diagnosis of ADHD, autism, dyslexia or dyspraxia, are waiting for an assessment, or simply recognise the traits.

When good people struggle for the wrong reasons

A neurodivergent employee is often one of the most capable people in the team: accurate, focused and deeply knowledgeable. What trips them up is rarely the work itself. It is the open-plan noise, the instructions given in passing, the sudden change of priorities, or the task with no clear starting point.

Because they often work hard to appear fine, a manager may not see the problem until it shows up as late nights, mistakes, exhaustion or a resignation. Well-meant adjustments picked from a list can miss the point entirely. The right ones come from looking at this person in this role.

This often looks like:

An employee has told you they are neurodivergent and you are unsure what to change
Someone capable is missing deadlines, working late or making uncharacteristic errors
The office environment seems to wear them out
Instructions or changes of priority keep getting missed
You want to make reasonable adjustments but do not know which ones would help
A new role, manager or office move has made things harder

How Return Well helps

Independent clinical guidance you can act on

An occupational therapist

Every assessment is carried out by an occupational therapist, the profession trained to look at how people, tasks and environments fit together.

Chosen for your case

Return Well assigns the therapist for each assessment. Neurodiversity cases are never posted to an open list.

Strengths first

The report starts from what the employee does well, and designs adjustments that protect those strengths.

Adjustments you can act on

Prioritised, costed and linked to what was found, so a manager knows what to do first and why.

Who it is for

Employers who want to support a neurodivergent employee properly, and get it right the first time. It suits someone at work and struggling, someone returning after time off, or someone whose role has recently changed.

ADHD, autism, dyslexia, dyspraxia and more. Or any combination, with or without a formal diagnosis.
Any role, any sector. Office, hybrid, remote or on the move. What matters is the fit between the person and the job.
Employers of any size. No occupational health contract needed. You pay per assessment.

A diverse team of colleagues working together in an office

How the assessment works

There are two parts, in this order. Both must be completed.

1. Two short questionnaires, before the assessment. The occupational therapist sends your employee two questionnaires about everyday experiences, such as noise, busy places, starting tasks and keeping track of things. They are completed on a computer by ticking a box for each answer, take around 15 to 20 minutes each, and are returned securely through their Return Well case page. They make up most of the sensory and functional review, so they need to be completed before the appointment.
2. A 90 minutes remote assessment with the occupational therapist. A video call in which the therapist works through a typical working day with your employee: what goes well, what gets in the way, and what has already been tried. They take part from somewhere familiar, and can pause, take breaks, or ask for questions in writing.
3. The report. Once Return Well has checked it and your employee has read and agreed it, you receive a clear, practical report.

We tell you and your employee about the questionnaires as soon as the case is confirmed, and remind your employee if they have not been returned 48 hours before the appointment.

A clinician on a video call, seen on a laptop screen, waving hello

What you receive

A clear, practical report written for a line manager, in the same format as every Return Well report.

A one-page summary for the manager: what is working, the main barriers and the most important adjustments
The employee's strengths, and how to protect them
A functional profile: each area of work, what was found, what it means in practice, and how much it affects them now
Prioritised adjustments, each linked to a finding, with who does it, roughly what it costs and when
Guidance for the line manager on what helps and what does not
Where useful, a note on the government's Access to Work scheme, and on optional follow-on coaching
A review point, and signs to look for that the adjustments are working

The report is about work. Your employee reads and agrees it before you receive it, and anything they shared in confidence stays out of it.

A clinician reading through an assessment report and making notes

What it costs

A Neurodiversity Workplace Assessment is £795. No VAT is charged, so that is the total price, and there is no contract or retainer.

The assessment usually within 5 working days of submission, and the report is usually within 5 working days of the assessment, once we have checked it and your employee has reviewed it.

Example

An accountant, an open-plan office and a month end that kept getting harder

A capable management accountant with ADHD had been promoted into a busier role and a hot-desking office. There were no performance concerns on record, but month end meant late nights and the office was exhausting. The assessment found the difficulties were about the environment and the way work arrived, not ability. It recommended a regular quieter desk, a short written follow-up after verbal instructions, month-end tasks broken into steps with checkpoints, and protected focus time. Most of it cost nothing.

Illustrative example: every assessment is tailored to the individual case.

FAQ

Common questions

Does the employee need a diagnosis?

No. The assessment looks at how someone works and what gets in the way, which is the same question whether or not they have a diagnosis. Many people are waiting for a diagnostic assessment, or have never sought one.

Will the assessment diagnose ADHD or autism?

No. It is not a diagnostic assessment and cannot confirm or rule out any condition. If a diagnosis would help the employee, the report can suggest they speak to their GP.

Who carries out the assessment?

An occupational therapist, chosen by Return Well for your case. Occupational therapists are trained to look at how a person, their tasks and their environment fit together, which is exactly the question here.

Do we have to make every adjustment in the report?

No. The recommendations are clinical suggestions for you to consider. Whether an adjustment is reasonable in your workplace is your decision. Most recommended adjustments cost little or nothing, and the report says roughly what each one involves.

Is this about the Equality Act?

It can help you meet your duty to make reasonable adjustments, but the report does not decide whether someone is disabled under the Equality Act 2010. That is a legal question. The adjustments are recommended on their merits either way.

Will the employee see the report?

Yes, first. Your employee reads the report and agrees it before it is released to you. That keeps the process transparent and means the plan starts with their agreement.

Is there anything to do before the assessment?

Yes. Your employee must complete two short questionnaires before the remote assessment with the occupational therapist. They are sent through Return Well once the therapist is ready, are completed on a computer, and make up most of the sensory and functional review, so please encourage your employee to return them before the appointment.

Can the employee get ongoing support afterwards?

Where it would help, the report can recommend occupational performance coaching: a short series of one-to-one sessions to build practical strategies. It is optional, and the employee may be able to get funding for it through Access to Work.

Ready to get started?

Submit your case in minutes and we'll match it to a qualified UK clinician. No subscription, no commitment. Pay per assessment.

Submit a Case

Not ready? Discuss a Case First