Tech Fund, re-assessment, Bench Book: 7 questions answered

100% of assistive tech costs: that's what the Access to Work Tech Fund now pays for new starters, one of seven questions this week's news answered for dyslexic employees. The rest cover AI tools, re-assessment demands, tribunal fairness, a trade, a management style, and a legal label that means less than people think. Here are all seven, straight.

Is using ChatGPT or Dragon at work cheating if I have dyslexia?

No. Under the Equality Act 2010 and the ADA, assistive technology, including AI writing tools and dictation software, is a standard reasonable adjustment. You don't need to prove you can't function without it first; the law doesn't ask you to earn the tool.

Nearly half of US employees hide their AI use at work, and 1 in 7 avoid telling their manager at all (Laserfiche survey of 1,000 US workers, via Reworked.co, August 2025). For a dyslexic employee, that instinct usually comes from years of being told the problem was effort, not the tool. The same logic applies to text-to-speech tools for reading dense documents.

The Job Accommodation Network classifies speech-to-text and AI writing tools as a standard accommodation category, not an experimental workaround (JAN, updated 2025). That matters because "standard" adjustments carry more weight if an employer ever questions why you use them.

So what for you: put your AI tool use in writing as an agreed adjustment, not a secret workaround.

What does the Access to Work Tech Fund actually cover?

The Tech Fund pays 100% of assistive technology costs, software and hardware, for employees under six weeks in a role, with no employer contribution required regardless of company size (DWP Access to Work guidance, 2026). That covers Dragon, Read&Write, Speechify, and Copilot or ChatGPT-class subscriptions.

Outside that window, standard cost-sharing applies based on employer size. Check your own numbers against the Access to Work guide before you apply.

You don't need a formal diagnosis to apply. A self-identified need, backed by examples of the tasks it affects, is enough to start a claim, though a diagnosis strengthens it.

So what for you: if you're new in post, apply in the first six weeks. It's the only window where the Tech Fund pays in full.

Can my employer make me pay for a dyslexia re-assessment?

No. The Equality Act 2010 duty to make adjustments doesn't reset because a new manager doubts an existing diagnosis (Sections 20-21). If your employer wants a second opinion, an employer-funded occupational health referral is the correct route, not a bill for you.

The same principle holds in the US: EEOC medical-examination guidance, issued in 2000 and still current, puts the cost of any employer-required assessment on the employer. Pausing adjustments while you argue over who pays is its own discrimination risk.

A real example

A financial analyst, diagnosed at university and three years into a role, had adjustments in place under a previous manager. A new manager questioned the diagnosis and asked for a fresh assessment before continuing extra proofreading time. The analyst's existing report, plus a written reminder of the Section 20-21 duty, was enough to keep the adjustment running while the question was resolved separately.

So what for you: put your existing evidence in writing and ask your employer to confirm adjustments continue during any review. The reasonable adjustments builder turns that into a draft email in about two minutes.

Do employment tribunals have to make adjustments for dyslexic witnesses?

Yes. An Employment Appeal Tribunal ruled that tribunals must have regard to the Equal Treatment Bench Book when assessing a dyslexic claimant's credibility (Habib v Dave Whelan Sports Ltd t/a DW Fitness First, [2023] EAT 113, judgment 23 August 2023, via bailii.org). A tribunal that treats dyslexia-linked inconsistency as evidence of dishonesty is applying the wrong test.

The case that got this wrong had its decision voided entirely. All eight grounds of appeal were sent back for a full rehearing.

The Bench Book covers practical things: the pace of questioning, whether evidence is given in writing or under live cross-examination, and extra time to process a question before answering. None of it requires a formal diagnosis on file before a tribunal must consider it.

So what for you: if you're bringing or defending a tribunal claim as a dyslexic witness, ask for Bench Book adjustments in writing at the case management stage, not on the day.

What adjustments help a dyslexic electrician?

The highest-friction tasks are reading circuit diagrams, writing EICR and Part P certificates, cable calculations, and client quotes. A quarter of UK construction workers identify as neurodivergent, and dyslexia is the second most reported condition among them at 31% (National Federation of Builders, June 2023).

Voice-annotation tablet apps, checklist templates, and a second review pass before signing off paperwork cut the error rate across all four tasks. Access arrangements are also available for the AM2 assessment, the practical exam most electricians sit before qualifying, through City and Guilds.

So what for you: if certification paperwork is where mistakes creep in, that's an Access to Work funded fix, not a training gap.

How do I manage a team when I'm dyslexic?

Delegate writing-heavy tasks deliberately, and run meetings with a fixed structure: agenda circulated in advance, one named owner per action, written summary afterward. Only 3% of UK corporate managers are dyslexic, against roughly 10% of the general population (Julie Logan, Cass Business School, City University London, 2009).

That gap suggests most dyslexic adults who reach management built strong delegation habits early, often as a coping strategy long before they had the title. Written instructions work best as short numbered steps rather than paragraphs, with one task per line.

So what for you: treat delegation as your management style, not a workaround you need to hide.

Does mild dyslexia count under the Equality Act?

Yes. The Act tests functional impact, not clinical severity: "substantial" means more than minor or trivial, a bar most dyslexic employees clear. An assessor's label of "mild" carries no legal weight on its own.

If you're weighing up whether a formal dyslexia assessment is worth the cost, the legal test doesn't depend on the grading it produces. A 2025 Employment Appeal Tribunal case (Stedman v Haven Leisure) confirmed that a substantial effect on even one daily activity is enough to meet the threshold.

So what for you: don't let a "mild" result talk you out of asking for adjustments in writing.

What this means for you

One theme runs through all seven answers: the law keeps assuming dyslexic employees will advocate for themselves in writing, at the right moment, with the right evidence. Assistive tools, Tech Fund applications, re-assessment refusals, and tribunal adjustments all move faster once you've written them down first.

None of these seven rights are automatic. Access to Work doesn't award the Tech Fund without an application, and a tribunal won't reach for the Bench Book unless someone asks for it on the record. The paperwork is the point, not an obstacle to it.

If you only do one thing from this list today, pick the question that's live for you right now and send the email that puts it in writing.

The call: don't wait for the perfect moment to raise it. Raise it this week, in writing.