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Universal Basic Income (UBI) is a social welfare proposal in which all citizens of a given population receive a regular guaranteed pre-tax income without any means test or the need to be in work, and it would be received independently of any other income. Currently, no country has fully introduced this proposal but countries are trialling the proposal to gather data.

In England, 30 participants across two locations, Jarrow in the North East and East Finchley in North London, are taking part in a two-year pilot where each participant will receive £1,600 each month regardless of their means. Will Stronge, the director of research at Autonomy, the think tank backing the plan, said: “UBI usually covers people’s basic needs, but we want to see what effect this unconditional lump sum has on people’s mental and physical health, whether they choose to work or not.”

Supporters of the plans say this will simplify the welfare system and help tackle poverty. But critics argue that it’d be too costly, diverting money from public services and not necessarily helping to alleviate poverty. This trial holds a great deal of promise for many experiencing the impacts of the cost-of-living crisis. Plus, it turns out this trial holds promise for the neurodivergent community also.

Easing financial worries

Being neurodivergent costs money! Equipping ourselves with the things we need to accommodate our neurodivergence costs money – often money that we may not have. That may mean that the money we put towards accommodating ourselves is money that can’t go towards our basic living expenses and daily needs like bills, food, commuting and more.

Remember the ADHD tax? The survey commissioned by YouGov and Monzo Bank found that ADHD adults are £1,600 per year worse off than non-ADHD adults. This could be because of, for example:

• prescription medication payments;
• forgotten subscriptions and memberships; or
• replacing items we’ve lost.

This is on top of the fact that, due to the 2022 disability pay gap of 17.2%, disabled workers took home £3,731 per year less than non-disabled workers. Autistic people may also need to spend money to meet their sensory needs. For instance, noise-cancelling headphones or paying extra to travel in taxis because buses are overwhelming.

So, the guaranteed income from UBI does take steps towards easing some of the financial worries that we have to deal with that our neurotypical peers, friends and family may not have to.

Under/unemployment

Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows that only 29% of autistic people aged 16 to 64 years were in any kind of paid work during the year ending June 2021 (data for the period ending June 2022 hasn’t been published yet). Not the lowest of any disabled group (that group is people with “severe or specific learning difficulties”) and a step up from 21.7% in the previous year, but still concerningly low.

With rising living costs, there’s a lot of pressure to get into work, even if it’s ‘just any job’. The desire to be employed and to earn a secure living might mean that autistic and neurodivergent workers find themselves in roles or workplaces where they’re spending a huge amount of energy masking. This could be because the role or workplace isn’t right for them and their particular skills and abilities, as well as the challenges they face, or because neurodivergent workers don’t feel they can disclose their identity to their employer.

With UBI acting as a potential safety net to fall back on and to take the pressure off finding work that aligns with their identity and abilities, the payments can better cover realistic living costs and give the neurodivergent worker a chance to find a much more suitable role. It then also takes the pressure off them feeling like they need to “settle” somewhere they can’t be comfortable and can’t do their best work.

Entrepreneurship

Richard Branson, Elon Musk, Ingvar Kamprad and Bill Gates are openly neurodivergent and credit their success to their identities and knowing how to work well around their abilities and challenges. In fact, roughly 20% of entrepreneurs are neurodivergent.

Neurodivergent people often possess unique skills, abilities, perspectives, creativity and ways of working. Although traditional employment structures, be they physical or inherent, don’t always cater to what we need in order to thrive and succeed.

The guaranteed income from UBI can offer some financial stability while we assess our situations and take some calculated risks in our lives, such as starting our own business, offering our own services outside of traditional employment or exploring other creative outlets that may be seen as financially risky but can help us find what we love, what we’re good at and offer us the chance to see whether we can make a living out such ventures.

Could we see even more neurodivergent-owned businesses come from a successful UBI trial? We’ll have to see. There are still two years to go before the scheme’s results are known and I’m sure the results will be published.

That being said, neurodivergent people face so much more than just financial instability in today’s society. We face multiple barriers to accessing work and other services to help us live the best life we can, as well as stigma and discrimination simply for being who we are. But given that pretty much everything in today’s capitalist society costs money, and the main way to get enough money to meet our most basic needs is to be in regular work, that guaranteed income should help ease some of the financial burdens we face on a daily basis.

It feels like an exciting prospect and I look forward to learning more when the trial concludes in two years’ time.