Surveys of disabled people have consistently shown that a large majority want to work. However unemployment rates among disabled people remain stubbornly high. Only around 50% of disabled people are in work according to the Labourforce Survey compared to over of 75% non-disabled people.

The unemployment rate for disabled people has drifted down by only about 1% a year in recent years despite legislation requiring employers to make reasonable adjustments for disabled staff, and tighter benefit rules making it much more likely that disabled people will be found to be fit for work.

This section will look first at the protection and help available for disabled people who are in work, and then at what help is available for those looking for a job.

Staying in a job

Many people at the time when they realise that an illness or accident had left them with a long-term health problem which leaves them with a disability focus initially on the impact on their home and family life. Staying in or returning to work can look like too big a challenge at a time when there is much change in their lives.

Unfortunately at this time many disabled people agree with their employers to leave their job and many months later realise that this was a mistake when they start hunting for a new job.

Under the Equality Act 2010 employers have a duty to make a reasonable adjustment to enable a disabled staff member to stay in work. What is ‘reasonable’ will vary according to individual circumstances taking into account the nature of the job, the needs of the individual and the capacity of the employer to make changes. It can vary from simply providing an item of equipment right the way through to redeploying the employee to another job within the organisation (for which they must have the necessary experience of course).

Information about ‘reasonable adjustments’ can be found on the website of the Equality and Human Rights Commission http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/your-rights/in-employment/work-place-adjustments. If you are a member of a Trade Union they should be able to help you agree a suitable reasonable adjustment with your employer.

Remember that if you are currently in a job your employer knows that you can do your job. If you stay they don’t have to waste money and time on recruiting and training someone to replace you.

If you give up work and later apply for a job you will be competing with other people and will need to convince the employer that you are the best person for the job – not only do you have to have the right skills and experience you also need to overcome their concerns about your disability.

Before you decide that you won’t be able to continue working make sure that you get advice. Your employer may decide to pay an Occupational Health Officer to advise you on what can be done.

It is also well worth contacting the Government’s Access to Work service https://www.gov.uk/access-to-work/overview. The help from Access to Work is sometimes called the Government’s best kept secret. They can advise on equipment or alterations which will help you work effectively and often they will pay for costs of providing this help. Access to work can even pay for a personal assistant to help you at work (eg helping visually impaired staff to prepare and present reports) or AtW will pay for an interpreter for deaf staff who use British Sign Language.

Help in finding a job

If you are looking for a job the starting point should be your local Jobcentre. It will have information about lots of local job vacancies, but most importantly they will be able to refer you to a Disability Employment Adviser (DEA).

All this is described on the Gov.UK website https://www.gov.uk/looking-for-work-if-disabled which also has a link to help you find your nearest Jobcentre.

The DEA will be able to refer you to the Work Choice scheme which is the Government’s main programme of support for disabled jobseekers.

Work Choice can provide a range of help to get ready for work and then apply for a job. It can also offer continuing support once you get a job, for up to 2 years.

The sort of help available includes:

• Building your confidence
• Skills training
• Access to help to manage your medical condition in a workplace
• Advice on how to apply for a job
• Tips on how to succeed at interview

Work Choice is delivered by a lead contract but they will have a number of sub-contractors to deliver the range of help available.

Help through the Work Choice scheme is usually available for 6 months, but can be extended in some cases.

Through your DEA or Work Choice you can be put in touch with Access to Work the Government’s scheme to help disabled people in the workplace https://www.gov.uk/access-to-work They can advise on equipment or alterations which will help you work effectively and often they will pay for costs of providing this help. Access to work can even pay for a personal assistant to help you at work (eg helping visually impaired staff to prepare and present reports) or AtW will pay for an interpreter for deaf staff who use British Sign Language.

Access to Work can carry out a preliminary assessment of the sort of help you can get once you find a job. This can be in the form of a letter which you can show a potential employer to reassure them that there will be help available if they decide to offer you the job.

Getting into work by setting up your own business

For some disabled people with specialist skills one way to overcome the reluctance of employers to give them a job is to set up in business on their own.

It is beyond the scope of this website to advise on setting up a business. You can get some basic information from the Gov.UK website https://www.gov.uk/browse/business/setting-up

Self-employment is often promoted as a good option for disabled people because it allows them to work flexibly to accommodate their impairment, particularly if they have a fluctuating conditions which means that don’t necessarily know when they will be able to work. However, this is only really true if you don’t need to have regular face to face contact with customers or clients. Remember, if you are part of a team someone may be able to cover for you if you are unable to attend a meeting, but if you are working on your own there is no one to cover for your absence.