Employment and adrenal insufficiency

Why your diagnosis matters at work:

• You may experience varying energy levels
• You need to carefully manage stress (interviews, increased workload, threat of redundancy, etc)
• You may take longer to recover from illness or injury
• You are required to follow a time-critical medication regimen
• You are at risk of adrenal crisis
• You may find it difficult to cope with having a diagnosis of adrenal insufficiency and might need support with your emotional wellbeing.

Disclosing your condition

It can be a difficult decision to share health information with your employer, and you may wish to define clear boundaries around the confidentiality of your information and who it should be shared with. 

Some workplaces have a first aider whom you may wish to inform, and let them know about your emergency injection kit. In other cases, you may prefer to share the information with a colleague.

However, due to the risk of adrenal crisis, a life-threatening emergency, it is strongly recommended to share your diagnosis with someone in the workplace and help to build the appropriate support in the case of an emergency.

You may need to provide medical evidence (e.g. a letter from your GP or Endocrine Team) confirming your diagnosis and ongoing care requirements.)

Signpost your employer to more information about your condition: 

Reasonable adjustments

The support you need will differ from the support someone else with Addison's or adrenal insufficiency might need. This depends on other health conditions you may have, how effective your medication is, and how long you have been diagnosed. 

Your needs may not be constant, and you need to be able to review them regularly with your employer to explore whether there are reasonable adjustments that can be made at work to support you and allow you to work optimally.

It's not enough for employers to provide a person with a disability with the same working conditions as non-disabled people. Employers must make reasonable adjustments by law.

This means potentially:

• finding a different way to do something
• making changes to the workplace
• changing someone's working arrangements
• providing equipment, services or support

Practical examples might include;

• flexible working hours
• time off for medical appointments
• access to a quiet space for rest or medication
• emergency protocols in case of adrenal crisis

If you feel you are being treated unfairly at work, it is important to share your concerns with your line manager or HR representative at the earliest opportunity so that communication channels stay open and you can both problem-solve to find a way forward. 

You may want to:

• check if there is a disability policy at work and whether it is being followed
• keep a note of your absences and what they relate to
• be clear about what your individual needs are in relation to your condition

If an informal approach does not work, then as an employee, you will be able to submit a formal grievance under your employer's grievance procedure, stating the reasons why you feel you are being penalised due to your disability.

We would advise you to seek support and advice from experts in this scenario - see options below.

Next Steps

Some straightforward ways your employer can support you: 

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