Neurodiversity | IT giant's failure to provide ADHD training 'set employee up to fail'

A global IT firm discriminated against a senior employee with ADHD by failing to run neurodiversity and ADHD awareness training sessions recommended to support her in the workplace, an employment tribunal has ruled.

The tribunal found that global consultancy Capgemini UK (the respondent) breached its duty under the Equality Act 2010 by not implementing a series of adjustments for Bahar Khorram (the claimant), including workplace coaching, structured support and internal training, even after acknowledging her disability.

Judge Adkin concluded that Capgemini’s failure to act on those adjustments, particularly after they were clearly set out in a workplace needs assessment, left the claimant “at a substantial disadvantage” and contributed to “setting her up to fail”.

‘Additional tasks were setting her up to fail’

Khorram joined Capgemini in June 2023 as Presales Market Lead, just below director level. She was diagnosed with ADHD the previous year and told her manager about the condition on 8 September 2023. At that point, the tribunal said, “the Respondent was aware of the disability”.