For the past three years, Neal Patel has worked part-time in supermarkets. He loves his job, which involves talking to members of the public and dealing with stock. “All the people and staff are nice to me. I like helping customers,” he says.
But although Patel, who has learning difficulties, is in his second supermarket job, he has never been paid for his work. His current role at Waitrose, where he works two shifts a week, has been a voluntary position for the past year.
His disability, he says, doesn’t affect his ability to do the job. “I normally do things by myself ... I don’t think about [my disability] – I don’t really know the difference. Sometimes I need help with big words when I’m reading or writing, or help understanding something, but not often.”
Patel, who graduated from college this summer, knows how hard it is to find paid work if you are disabled – and the statistics confirm this: in January 2016, the UK employment rate among working-age disabled people was 46.5%, compared to 84% for non-disabled people.
For adults with learning difficulties, the numbers are even worse: just 6% of people with a learning disability known to social services are in paid employment, despite more than 60% wanting to and being able to be in work, according to the charity Mencap.
Patel, however – who is supported by the charity Action for Kids – has just had some good news. During the writing of this article, Waitrose decided to offer him a job with a salary.
“My family were pleased and proud when I found out,” he says. “I’ll be working in the household cleaning section. I will go to the stockroom in the morning and then go to the shelves and fill them. It feels better to be paid. I will work hard. I always work hard.”
Odds stacked against you
Despite the UK government’s pledge to get one million disabled people into work by 2027, analysis by the charity Scope shows more disabled people are currently leaving employment than moving into jobs. If you’re disabled and trying to succeed at work, the odds are stacked against you in a host of ways, from a lack of careers support to inaccessible transport and ignorance among employers.
And when a disabled person does get a job, they’re likely to be paid less than non-disabled people. Research by the Equality and Human Rights Commission found that, during the period 1997-2014, the disability pay gap was 13% for men and 7% for women.
Even the first task in a job application can exclude disabled candidates. Amelia Forde, who is severely visually impaired, just graduated from the University of Derby, and hopes to work in sales in the drinks industry. But a major barrier, she says, is getting past companies’ computerised recruitment tests, which often involve time-sensitive tasks.
“Normally there are 20 questions in 20 minutes, which is quite difficult for me. You have to write to their HR department and say, ‘Would it be possible to do something about this?’ I always worry that makes you look weak, and that’s not something a company wants.”
Forde, 27, is now working part-time in a supermarket while she searches for a graduate job. From her past experience in shops and bars, she knows employers lack an understanding of disability. Companies can abruptly change their IT systems, making them inaccessible, and colleagues can make offensive comments without repercussions.
According to Forde, there’s very little quality training to help managers understand the challenges disabled people face. “If I tell somebody I have a sight problem, they say, ‘Oh, but you have a job and you can get yourself to and from work.’ But I can only read my phone if it’s three to four inches from my face, and if I want to pick a particular item from a shelf I have to pick every item up first. I may have a job, but it’s taken me a very long time to feel comfortable there.”
Given how little disability awareness there is among employers, it’s perhaps not surprising that companies can be reluctant to make even the smallest of adaptations. In Forde’s case, she would need an office computer with accessible software – for example, a zoom magnifier and text-to-speech programme. But she worries that employers will consider this too time-consuming to sort out.
In a damning report last month, the United Nations found the UK is failing to uphold disabled people’s rights across a range of areas, including education and work.
The government’s Disability Confident scheme – which offers training to employers on how to attract and retain disabled people – promises to help businesses think more positively about disability. But campaigners say it’s unclear how the programme’s success will be measured.
Part of the problem is that businesses underestimate disabled people, says Bradley Beaumont, 20, from West Bromwich. “You’ve got more chance of the employer hiring the able-bodied person because they haven’t got to pay for any adaptations – even though Access To Work [a government scheme] will pay for adaptations anyway. I think employers know that, but they just don’t want to do it. I don’t think they see what disabled people can do.”
Beaumont, who has syringomyelia, a spinal condition, and uses a wheelchair, has repeatedly had to prove to others that he is capable. This summer he finished studying for a City and Guilds level 2 diploma in carpentry – a course he was told he wouldn’t be able to complete.
He wants to work on a construction site but, as a wheelchair user, says his best bet of doing so would be through a site manager position – which he’s unlikely to get without a degree. “I can do a higher education course at college but it’s the cost of it [that puts me off]. I can’t be going to college and not have any money coming in. I need a job.”
Beaumont has tried job websites aimed at disabled people, but the vacancies either require prior experience or are too far away. Until he gets a job, he can’t afford driving lessons – meaning he’s dependent on public transport, which is notoriously unreliable for disabled people.
Despite giving notice of his travel plans, he says, the local train company often fails to meet him with a ramp. “I’ve been left on the platform because the conductor couldn’t be bothered. I’ve been left on the train quite a few times and I’ve missed my stop.”
Nowadays Beaumont travels wearing steel toe-capped boots, so he can put his foot in the train doors – preventing them from shutting before he has been helped on to the platform.
‘Stuck in college’
Amelia Forde has similar problems. She is sometimes forced to walk from one side of Manchester Piccadilly station to the other, counting the platforms to make sure she’s getting the right train, because there are no staff to ask for help. A journey that should take less than an hour can take more than two. This doesn’t just limit the pool of jobs she can apply for; it also means getting to interviews is even more stressful.
Other than the support she’s getting from the charity Blind in Business, there’s very little quality careers advice to help her find opportunities. Forde was offered some careers guidance by her university, but it wasn’t tailored for her disability and she was directed to jobs that were too far away. Beaumont, meanwhile, is getting support from the charity Whizz Kidz, and is planning to approach the job centre for guidance.
Kamran Mallick, chief executive of Disability Rights UK, says the support available from government is patchy. Most young people will be offered some help through the Department for Work and Pensions’ Work Choice programme, but the success rates for such schemes are low, he says.
According to Mallick, the quality of education offered to disabled students is also variable. “I’ve seen young disabled people stuck in college doing endless courses, just repeating them.”
Then, aged 25, when they enter adult life, all their support mechanisms fall away. To make matters worse, most won’t have had a Saturday job or have any work experience to show employers. Many will also have been told to have low expectations.
There are, Mallick adds, pockets of excellence. One example is supported internships, where students are given a structured study programme and a chance to learn in the workplace. At Action on Disability – where Mallick previously worked as chief executive – he developed a supported internship scheme that achieved an employment success rate of 70%.
Matt Shaw, 22, has recently completed a similar programme at the Hive College, based at Wilson Stuart School in Birmingham. After several work experience placements, he completed a supported internship at Tesco and was offered a job working in produce.
Shaw, who has cerebral palsy and autism, says the structure of the programme gave him a chance to gradually gain confidence. He was given support from a teaching assistant and job coach, and set weekly targets by his employer.
The biggest hurdle, he says, was being able to talk to people: “Probably because I haven’t had much confidence and I’ve always been shy.”
But Shaw identifies one fellow member of staff at Tesco who has “brought me out of my comfort zone a little bit. Now we wind each other up; we have a laugh. And even though I don’t see I’ve improved confidence in myself – that’s part of autism – I know they have helped me talk to staff.”
Without the college programme, Shaw is not sure he would have secured a job. “I don’t think I would have got anywhere in life. I think I would have just got to a point where I didn’t want to do anything.”
For her part, Forde wishes businesses would recognise how valuable disabled people are as employees. For a start, she says, they’re probably a lot more loyal than other workers: “Someone who has a disability, and who has been through absolute hell – if you’re going to offer them a job, they’re going to stay for a heck of a lot longer. You’re giving them the time to be happy there.”
Forde says she doesn’t mind what she does next; she just wants an opportunity to put her degree to use, and doesn’t want to be at home on benefits. “I like a challenge, I like doing new things and I like giving anything a go. If I can find a way to do it, I’ll do it happily.”
Neal Patel, meanwhile, cannot wait to start his new – paid – job at Waitrose. “My family were pleased and proud when I found out,” he says. “I want to go to a restaurant with them to celebrate. Maybe Indian, Chinese or Turkish. Turkish is my favourite.”
“It is not our policy to employ anyone on an unpaid basis for a long period of time,” Waitrose added in a statement. “We always want to ensure that everyone who works for us is treated fairly.”
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