TUC survey reveals high levels of disability discrimination

Lucy_Scope

Disability Rights UK

A poll conducted by the TUC shows that Disabled workers are facing bullying, discrimination and harassment in the workplace.
The warning comes at the same time as other TUC findings show the “pervasive” mistreatment of Disabled workers across UK workplaces, including not getting reasonable adjustments, and having disability related leave treated as sick leave.

This new poll, carried out by Opinium, asked 1000 Disabled workers If they faced bullying, discrimination and harassment in employment, with the results showing that nearly four in ten have experienced all three.

Other shocking findings revealed in the poll are that more than four in ten Disabled employees said that the most recent bullying, discrimination and harassment, had a negative impact on their mental health. Almost three in ten said that it made them want to leave their job.

For Disabled workers who have faced bullying, harassment and discrimination, the mistreatment came in different forms, which included:

• Intrusive or offensive questioning about their disability.
• 
  Stereotypes or assumptions about their disability.
• 
  Offensive jokes or "banter" about Disabled people.
• 
  Sustained patterns of intimidating or abusive behaviour, clearly linked to their disability.
• 
  The findings noted that the mistreatment came from work colleagues, customers, clients, patients and members of the public, met through work.

The TUC says this widespread mistreatment is pushing a significant number of Disabled workers to breaking point – leading them to consider quitting work.

A significant proportion of the workers who had faced discrimination in the last five years reported that the experience made them reconsider whether they should stay in work with three in ten of those polled saying that the level of mistreatment they experienced made them want to leave their job, but they were unable to due this due to financial or other constraints. more than one in ten had left their job.

The level of mistreatment experienced by Disabled workers has had an impact on their wellbeing at work with many saying that they had either lost workplace confidence or more worryingly the treatment they have receive had impacted their mental health, such as making them feel more stressed, anxious, or depressed.

The findings of the poll are timely as 250 Disabled trade union activists from across the UK are meeting this week for the TUC Disabled Workers Conference.

The TUC notes that the Employment Rights Bill, currently at committee stage in the House of Lords, is set to offer protection for workers experiencing abuse at work, stating that this new bill will help stamp out widespread abuse of Disabled workers.

TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak said, “No one should face bullying, harassment or discrimination at work.”

“But the number of Disabled workers reporting that this is their everyday experience is shockingly high. It’s time to stamp out this pervasive mistreatment. Disabled workers deserve dignity and respect at work like every other worker does.

“That’s why the Government’s Employment Rights Bill is so important. It will introduce sensible changes like a duty on employers to protect workers from harassment. This will be an important step towards putting an end to the widespread abuse disabled people experience at work.”

Dan White policy and campaigns officer at DR UK said “This new poll is the latest in a long line of findings that show Disabled people in the workplace, facing various barriers and prejudices. From a lack of reasonable adjustments; disability employment and pay gaps; disability related leave recorded as sick leave and now abuse at work”

“Even though the much-vaunted employment rights bill will offer some protection for Disabled workers, there is still so much to address. Employers need to step up and crack down on bad and ableist practice and create workplace environments where Disabled employees can flourish and feel safe and empowered, not terrified.”

“It is vital that Government acts swiftly, if it wants to see more Disabled people working. The Disability Employment Charter of which DR UK is a founding member can be the template for what is needed to end workplace discrimination.”

Stellar

Not surprised. This is another inevitable result of ableism and capitalism.

steve63

I experienced a lot of discrimination whilst working for for a well known British company.

What frustrated me most is the fact that all of my discrimination came from people of a different sex, race or religion to me.

I had a Muslim line manager call me into an office and tell me that he was fed up with me having fits at work and that he wanted me to stop having them.

If I said that I was fed up with him being a Muslim and that I wanted him to change his religion, it would not be accepted and I’d probably be dismissed for racial and religious discrimination.

On another occasion I had two days pay deducted from my pay because I suffered severe dehydration at a concert and had at least 16 dissociative seizures and had to get taken to hospital by ambulance. I literally could not stand for two days so had to take the time off sick.

When I returned to work my line manager who was a black woman said “As far as we’re concerned your fits were self inflicted, because if you didn’t go to the concert you wouldn’t have had the fits.”

If I discriminated against her because of her sex or race I’d have been dismissed and rightly so, but it was okay for her to discriminate against me.

I challenged her and spoke to her line manager who was a Muslim and he repeated the same words to me, four times.

I therefore said “If you have a car crash and break both of your legs, would you get paid for your time off?” and he replied “of course I would, why shouldn’t I? So I said “because it would be self-inflicted. If you don’t drive the car you won’t have the car crash and you’re more likely to have a car crash than me because I’m not allowed to drive.” He said “you can’t tell me not to drive a bloody car!” To which I replied “and you can’t tell me not to go to a bloody concert!” I still had money taken from my pay though.

I don’t want sympathy from people, I want empathy, as well as respect, but unfortunately there’s so much ignorance out there in society still, especially from people from certain races and religions that they perceive hidden conditions such as Epilepsy from a different perspective and they have an unwillingness to change.

Other instances occurred including serious assaults.

I also had a lot of money either withheld or deducted from my pay due to me being off sick or having to go to hospital due to me having a fit at work caused by the extreme cold or intense heat.

I condemn all discrimination but I’m sick and tired of racial, sexual and religious discrimination being seen as the most important.

Discrimination is discrimination, irrespective of what category the victim or offender fall, so discrimination against someone with a disability or someone who’s gay is a serious as racial or sexual discrimination and should be treated so!