Talking to colleagues about Parkinson’s

For more information, visit the Parkinson’s UK website (last updated November 2021).

You don’t have to tell your manager or anyone else at work about your Parkinson’s unless:

• it may cause a health and safety risk either to you or to someone else
• you need to change the way you work because of your symptoms

Unless you work in a small organisation without a human resources department, your manager doesn’t normally need to know that you have Parkinson’s specifically, if you do not feel comfortable telling them. You  can just say that you have a health condition and you need to change the way you work (if this is the case). Your manager or someone in the human resources department should arrange for you to have an appointment with an occupational health specialist or other medical adviser.

If you decide that you want to tell your manager about your condition you may find it helpful to give them some information about Parkinson’s. Parkinson’s UK has specific information for employers about Parkinson’s at the link below, that you may like to direct them to.

Information for employers about Parkinson’s

Remember that if you tell your manager about your condition, they must not tell anyone else without your consent, except in very limited circumstances. For example, they may have to tell the human resources department or other managers you work with. This includes their duty to look after your health and safety and to make reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act or Disability Discrimination Act.

Should I tell my colleagues about my condition?

It’s entirely up to you whether you tell your colleagues about your Parkinson’s. But the important thing to know is that you don’t have to tell your colleagues if you don’t want to.

You may want to think about things like how your condition may affect you and your colleagues in the workplace, how noticeable your symptoms are and what your relationship is like with the people you work with.

If you do decide to tell your colleagues about your condition, you may like to spend some time thinking about what you want to tell them and how you want to do this. You may want to tell them about Parkinson’s in detail or you may prefer to be less specific and just let them know you have a health condition.

You may find it helpful to talk to your manager about how to tell your workmates. For example, you can tell them yourself or ask your manager to do it for you.