Promotion with dyslexia: the 25% extra time you must request

A dyslexic fire officer had 25% extra time recommended in his 2009 dyslexia report. He still did not get it at his promotion exam in March 2016 (Roads v Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes Fire Authority, 28 March 2017).

The exam centre had no advance notice of his dyslexia. He lost his tribunal claim a year later.

This is a UK case, and it is a few years old. It still matters if a promotion panel will read your writing.

The same goes for a typo check or a written test. The help you need only works if the right people have it in writing before the day.

What happened to the fire officer

The claimant was a Crew Commander. He wanted to become a Watch Commander. The route there included a written exam, a development centre and an interview.

His dyslexia had been assessed in 2009. The report said he needed longer to read and take in text.

That report recommended 25% extra time in written exams. It also suggested coloured paper and some software. In 2014 the employer had moved the exams to an outside exam body.

He skipped the March 2015 exam. He did not explain why to his learning manager or station commander in good time.

He did sit the March 2016 exam. The centre refused the extra time. As the judgment puts it, "there had been no advance notification of his dyslexia."

He had not thought to apply. The exam body's website explained how to apply for adjustments.

So what for you: if a panel or exam is coming, find out who needs your adjustment in writing. Send it to them first.

Why the tribunal said no

The tribunal threw out his reasonable adjustments claim. It found his employer had already put adjustments in place, or offered them, after the 2009 report. It said the employer would have helped more if he had said which ones he wanted.

It also noted that he did not use the tools he had been given. He did not follow up with the learning manager either.

Part of his case rested on one large book that his station commander had wrongly called compulsory. The tribunal called his ask to convert every text he could not download "a Rolls Royce service."

The tribunal also refused two other requests. He had asked to be assessed by role play or interview, or to skip the exam. It said the exam tests knowledge that keeps the public safe, so those changes were not reasonable adjustments.

The lesson is narrow, but it is useful. Ask for changes to how you are assessed, such as time, format and tools. Skipping the assessment itself rarely works.

So what for you: ask for more time, a better format or a tool, and name the one you want.

What the law says (UK)

Acas says employers "must make reasonable adjustments by law" (Acas, updated 30 January 2025). That covers staff and job applicants. The duty links to a request, so the ask matters.

Acas says the employer pays for them. One example is "more time to do written or reading tests". Another is "providing emails and documents in an accessible format."

Access to Work is a government grant. It can help pay for "specialist equipment and assistive software" (GOV.UK, checked November 2026). Acas says it does not replace your employer's duty.

Our Access to Work guide shows how to apply.

If you are in the US, the equivalent is a reasonable accommodation request under the ADA. Start with the Job Accommodation Network (askjan.org).

So what for you: use the words "reasonable adjustments" in your request. That is the legal term in the UK.

The request that gets it on record

Say your promotion pack is due in six weeks. The panel will read a written case, and you know typos creep in when you proofread your own work. Send your manager or HR one short email now.

Here is a draft you can change:

"I am applying for the senior role. Because of my dyslexia, I will need 25% extra time for any written assessment. I would also like read-aloud software to check my application. Please confirm in writing what the panel needs from me."

That email names the task, the fix and the deadline. It asks for a reply in writing. Keep the reply.

The reasonable adjustments builder turns your difficulties into a draft like this in about two minutes. If you have not told your employer you are dyslexic, read the disclosure decision guide first. Naming it is your choice, and the right moment depends on the role.

So what for you: send the email this week, while the date is still weeks away.

Fix the typos before the panel sees them

An adjustment on paper does not fix a pack with errors in it. You still need a way to catch them yourself. Three habits are worth trying.

• Leave the document for a day, then read it again.
• Play it back with text-to-speech and fix whatever sounds wrong.
• Ask one trusted colleague to read the final version.

Spellcheck can miss a real word used wrongly, such as "form" for "from". Your ear may catch it when your eyes do not. Run the covering email through the email tone checker too.

If your employer will not fund read-aloud software, ask about Access to Work.

So what for you: pick one of the three habits and use it on the next document that matters.

If the answer is no

Acas says an employer can refuse an adjustment that is not reasonable. Even then, the employer "should still find other ways to support the disabled person." So a no is not the end.

Reply in writing within a day or two. Ask which part they refuse and why. Then offer a smaller version, such as 15 minutes more instead of a rewritten format.

The tribunal turned down some of the fire officer's requests because they went beyond what the role needed. A broad ask can hit the same limit. A narrow, specific ask is easier to grant.

Keep your tone calm and factual. You are asking for a level field, and the law gives you a way to ask.

So what for you: answer a refusal with a narrower ask in writing, and keep both emails.

Keep a record and watch the clock

The tribunal also looked at time. It said problems around the March 2015 exam were out of time. Raising grievances did not keep them alive.

It found he had taken no action on the exam process until he was refused a role in August 2015.

Acas says that trying to sort things out informally "does not change the time limits" for a tribunal claim. Time limits apply, so check yours early. GOV.UK says Acas offers free early conciliation (GOV.UK, checked November 2026), so Acas is the place to start.

Keep every email and note. Write down the date, who was there and what was said. Send yourself a copy the same day.

So what for you: if a request is refused, contact Acas within days, not months.

What this means for you

If a written assessment or review is coming, put your adjustment request in writing now. Name the exact help you want, such as extra time or read-aloud software. Then use what the employer offers, and reply to every offer.

This case is from 2017, and a first-level tribunal heard it, so treat it as one example. The tribunal looked for a clear request, made early, and for tools that were then used.

So what for you: write the email today, and keep the reply.