Growing number of Civil Service applicants declare themselves ‘neuro-diverse’

An increasing number of applicants for Civil Service jobs are declaring themselves ‘neuro-diverse’ and asking for special dispensation, including working from home and mornings off to visit therapists.

A source said job-hunters going through the Fast Stream scheme are increasingly ‘in some way, shape or form saying they are neuro-divergent’ and requesting different working patterns.

Whitehall staff recently launched a UK Civil Service Neurodiversity Network, which aims to ‘challenge unconscious biases against neurodiversity’.

The ‘volunteer-led community’ says: ‘It is estimated that around one in seven people are neuro-divergent, meaning that the brain functions, learns and processes information differently.’

The network said its mission is to ‘create a safe space for anyone who is neurodiverse to be themselves’.

The Government said data on how many Civil Service Fast Stream candidates are neuro-diverse will be published soon.

Some departments have been organising seminars on neuro-diversity and what it means for civil servants and their line managers.

One description posted on the Government’s website said: ‘It’s highly likely that you, or someone you work with, is contributing to the neuro-diversity within our workforce.’