Sickness record

Richie-from-the-Boro

In all previous recessions, like this one, all sections of society lost jobs, most people eventually managed to get back into paid employment, the disabled section of society however people having lost their job and never got back in.

The real benefit of course is the social inclusion and ' felt self worth ' benefit disabled people gain from being an integrated part of society in general and the workforce in particular. However you can't have Welfare in Work without work, and the assumption that there are thousands of employers waiting to give sustenance to the disabled by way of a supported let alone a self supporting job while supporting physical and mental health inequality is a view without any substance whatsoever.

An often used quote from the disabled in this MSE group is “I want the same choices as anyone else – to have the career I want .” I agree, they should have exactly the same opportunity as the able bodied, but for the mainstream disabled majority it is going to have to be :

- subsidised at least to begin with by the non-disabled majority
- self sustaining
- equal in productivity to the able bodied

Most employers don't really care or think about the disabled other than the EA & DDA and even then only at paper level An employer makes widgits they care about the unit cost per widgit. When considering a disabled individual for a position in the company they want to know does s/he compare to the average of the rest of the workforce in terms of :

- can s/he be trained to the same level as this other workforce
- one trained to standard can / will s/he integrate
- productivity
- flexibility
- timekeeping
- absence

The disabled want to be bricklayers engineers hairdressers and work in admin, again they need to be able to compete as per the above with a sustainable productivity level. Some of the job types I have deliberately mentioned are clearly out of the question, this is also the case for hidden experiences of disability [ especially mental health conditions ] others however are very attainable. If the the disabled are going to escape the twin poverty's of economic [ disabled people are twice as likely to live in poverty as non-disabled people ] and social deprivation and isolation in society, the disabled themselves must understand it is never going to happen.

Disabled people of today want different things from those things the disabled of my youth wanted, a bit of extra cash and a Trotter Trading Plastic Pig was the norm for the 60's 70's and 80's, today's disabled want a mainstream lifestyle, and able bodied friends and lovers.

I wish, really wish I could have been more positive, but in a recession companies will engineer out anyone over 55 and even dump less productive able bodied 25 year oldie's.

Savvy_Sue

Richie, I think you're right. Possibly the 'golden age' of employment for those with disabilities was when companies over a certain size were required to (try to) employ a certain % of people registered as disabled. Of course very few companies reached that %, but some did try, and one of my siblings who is very deaf feels they benefited from declaring a disability at that time - and they've managed to stay in work ever since.

My mother has been unable to use the phone for as long as I can remember. As a result I know about the Text Relay service, and I've sometimes received calls at work in that way from organisations we work with. It always strikes me how much longer these calls take, and it's not easy to establish a meaningful conversation. So I'm hoping my hearing will hold out until I retire (have already had to change which ear I hold the phone to, and it's hopeless if I have a cold!), because while I know there is a reasonable adjustment which would enable me to use the phone, it would hamper my productivity!

pauliboo

I work for a very large company in the North-West and they will allow you 'Special Leave' for disability related appointments. Such as my weekly physio - I usually miss around 2hrs of work a week, but it allows me to remain in employment full-time.

Any disability related sickness absence is unfortunately still counted as sick leave, but it has been agreed by my manager that this won't trigger anything. As they say, they'd rather allow me a day off to recuperate than make myself ill and take weeks off!