How to Write an ADHD Accommodation Request to HR (Template)

You have decided to ask. Maybe a clinician suggested it, maybe the last missed deadline settled it. Now there is a blank email to HR and no idea how formal, how personal or how long it should be. If you are searching for an ADHD accommodation request letter, you want the words, the attachments, and some idea of what happens after you press send.

This post gives you a template that works in most Canadian workplaces, explains what to leave out, and walks through the practical side: whether to attach a letter or a report, whether to email or ask for a meeting first, what a reasonable reply and timeline look like, and what to do if the reply is no, or nothing. It is general information, not legal advice, and your union or a provincial human rights body can help with the edge cases.

What has to be in the request and what should stay out

A good request does four jobs: it tells the employer that you have a disability-related need, describes how that need shows up at work, asks for specific changes, and offers documentation. That is all. The common mistakes are in the other direction: too much.

• In: that you have a medical condition that affects specific work functions, named in work terms (sustaining attention in open spaces, tracking shifting priorities, retaining verbal instructions).
• In: three to five specific accommodations, each with a trial period.
• In: an offer of supporting documentation and a request for a meeting.
• Out: your life story, the diagnosis date, how you felt before it, or an apology for asking.
• Out: treatment details or anything about medication. The employer is not entitled to this and it does not help your case.
• Out: threats or references to legal rights in the first message. Save the law for later, if it is ever needed.

You do not have to name ADHD at all. Many people do, and it can make the conversation simpler, but the legal entitlement rests on the functional limitations, not the label. Our answer on whether you need to disclose ADHD to get workplace accommodations covers the choice.

The template, paragraph by paragraph

Replace the bracketed parts. Keep the whole thing under 300 words.

1. Subject line: Request for workplace accommodation. Plain and searchable. HR will file it under that heading.
2. Paragraph one, purpose: I am writing to request workplace accommodation for a medical condition that affects [sustained attention, time management and working memory] in my role as [title]. I would like to set up a plan with you and my manager, [name].
3. Paragraph two, the limitations in work terms: In practice, I find it difficult to [track priorities when they change verbally, retain instructions given in passing, and sustain focus in the open-plan area]. This has affected [deadlines on two projects this quarter], and I want to address it before it affects more.
4. Paragraph three, the specific requests: I am requesting the following, on a six-week trial: (1) a written weekly priority list from my manager; (2) a ten-minute check-in each Thursday; (3) use of noise-cancelling headphones and access to a bookable quiet room for focused work; (4) tasks assigned by email or ticket rather than verbally.
5. Paragraph four, documentation: I have a letter from my clinician confirming the condition and the recommended adjustments, which I can provide on request. I would prefer it to be held in my confidential HR file.
6. Paragraph five, the ask and the timeline: Could we meet within the next two weeks to agree the plan and a review date? Thank you for your help with this.

Read it once for tone. It should sound like a competent colleague solving a logistics problem, because that is what it is.

Attaching documentation: letter versus full report

Do not attach anything to the first email. Offer it. When HR asks, send a short clinician's letter, not the full assessment report. The letter typically confirms that you have a condition that qualifies as a disability, lists the functional limitations relevant to work, and recommends adjustments. It does not need to state the diagnosis, and it should not include treatment or medication details. The full report contains your history, scores and personal information that an employer does not need and should not hold.

If you do not yet have a letter, our guide to getting an ADHD accommodation letter in Canada explains the options, and whether you can get ADHD documentation for work or school accommodations describes what a clinician can and cannot write. Finding Focus provides online ADHD assessment for adults in several Canadian provinces, with one consultation with a licensed Canadian clinician after a short online intake and no referral needed, if an assessment is the missing step.

Sending it: email, HR portal or a meeting first

Email is usually best, because it creates a dated record and lets you get the wording right. If your organisation has an HR portal with an accommodation form, use that and paste the same text in; the portal is where HR will look. A meeting first can be a good idea when you have a strong relationship with your manager and want to give them a heads-up, but follow it with the email the same day so the request exists in writing.

Send it to HR and copy your manager, unless your manager is the reason you are asking, in which case send it to HR alone and say so. If you are unionised, tell your steward before you send; they may want to be at the meeting and can often tell you how similar requests have gone. Keep a copy of everything in a personal folder, not only on the work system. Our post on whether to disclose ADHD to your employer is worth reading if you are still deciding how much to say.

What a reasonable reply looks like and typical timelines

There is no fixed legal deadline for a response in Canada, but the duty to accommodate includes a duty to deal with the request in a reasonable time. In practice, a reasonable sequence is an acknowledgement within a few business days, a meeting within two to three weeks, and a written plan shortly after that. Interim measures, such as the headphones or the written priorities, can usually start right away while the paperwork catches up.

A good reply does three things: confirms the request was received, says what information they need from you, and proposes a meeting. It may ask for a letter; that is normal. It may propose alternatives to what you asked for; that is also normal, and you are expected to consider them in good faith. What it should not do is ask for your diagnosis, your full report or your treatment details, or go silent.

If the answer is no, or silence: next steps

If two weeks pass with nothing, send one polite follow-up to HR, copying your manager, referencing the date of the original email and asking for a meeting date. Keep it to three sentences. Most silence is overload, not refusal, and the follow-up usually shakes it loose.

If the answer is no, ask for the reasons in writing. An employer who refuses accommodation is supposed to be able to explain why it would cause undue hardship, and we don't do that here is not a reason. Offer alternatives: a smaller set of adjustments, a shorter trial, a different quiet space. If the refusal stands, escalate inside the organisation first, to a more senior HR contact or your union, and keep every message. The final step is a complaint to your provincial human rights tribunal or commission, or the Canadian Human Rights Commission for federally regulated employers; these have time limits, often one year from the event, so do not let it drift. For most people it never gets that far. This week, write the five paragraphs, sleep on them, and send.