Dyslexia at work: should you tell your employer?

By Justine Vilgrain

No, nothing obliges you to tell your employer that you’re dyslexic. It’s your choice, when it suits you. Telling them can, however, open the door to workplace adjustments. In France, with an RQTH (official recognition as a disabled worker) from the MDPH, you can also get support from Cap emploi and funding from the Agefiph. Here is how to decide, and what to ask for.

Telling or not: you decide

The decision is yours: you don’t have to mention your dyslexia, when you’re hired or afterwards. Even if you have an RQTH, you don’t have to declare it to your employer.

Telling them can still help. Your employer can only adapt your job if they know what you need. You can keep it simple: say what helps you work well, without medical details.

You can also talk to the occupational doctor first. They are bound by medical confidentiality. They can make recommendations to your employer without sharing your health information.

The RQTH: what it is and what it can bring

The RQTH (reconnaissance de la qualité de travailleur handicapé, official recognition as a disabled worker) is an administrative decision in France. It gives access to support for finding or keeping a job.

You apply to the MDPH (the local disability office) of your département, online or by post. An MDPH committee, the CDAPH, reviews your file. Dyslexia can qualify for the RQTH depending on its impact on your work: each file is assessed case by case.

The RQTH is granted for 1 to 10 years, and sometimes for life. You choose whether or not to show it to your employer. Among other things, it can give you:

• adjustments to your hours or your job;
• support from Cap emploi to find or keep a job;
• funding from the Agefiph in the private sector, or from the FIPHFP in the public sector;
• access to certain schemes, such as supported employment.

Which adjustments can you ask for at work?

Useful adjustments are often simple. The best place to start is your actual difficulties, task by task.

The occupational doctor can look at your job with you. Solutions can be technical or practical, or concern how tasks and working time are organised. For example:

• speech-to-text or text-to-speech software;
• instructions given verbally, then summarised in writing;
• instructions broken down into clear steps;
• more time to read and write;
• adapted tasks or working hours.

Cap emploi and the Agefiph: who can help you?

Cap emploi and the Agefiph are the two main sources of support for private-sector employees in France. Cap emploi helps disabled people find or keep a job. You can contact them yourself, or your employer can.

The Cap emploi adviser works with you, your employer and the occupational doctor. They look for a solution, help put together funding applications, then follow your situation for 6 months.

The Agefiph funds support for private-sector employees: job adjustments, adapted equipment, training. In the public sector, the FIPHFP does this. These usually require official recognition of a disability, such as the RQTH, or an application in progress.

Where the stamp fits in

The Certified Dyslexic stamp flags your dyslexia in writing, without a long explanation. In your email signature, it tells colleagues and clients: judge my ideas, not my spelling.

It doesn’t replace the RQTH or any adjustments. It says nothing about your health. You choose whether to show it, and when.

For personal use, the digital stamp is free: download it from the Digital stamp page. A company that wants to offer it to its staff must first get written permission from Certified Dyslexic, which offers licences and awareness sessions.