Declaring disabilities on job applications, good idea or bad idea?

[Deleted User]

Above.

IMO it's a bad idea, every time I apply to anywhere, first thing I do is declare my disability on the online application form, consequently my form gets insta-binned despite the illegality of discrimination unless it's somewhere like the Co Op or Tesco that offers guaranteed interviews for the disabled if you meet the criteria, trouble is I've applied to Tesco about 5 times and they keep saying I don't meet the criteria! So much for equal opportunities, I also can't help that 100% of my customer facing retail experience is in Charity shops, it's literally the only place that will take on a disabled guy in his 40s.

Thoughts? Any trolling will be reported.

leeCal

I had this problem once and in the end I decided to tell them because I didn’t want it to be discovered after I’d got the job. I didn’t get the job but I’m not sure it was because I had a disability, I’d like to think it wasn’t due to that anyway. 

MarkM88

I always think it is the best option to declare, firstly if you meet all the criteria you can be given an interview under the guaranteed interview scheme if they adhere to this, secondly you can ask for reasonable adjustments and lastly they will be happy to assist in an access to work application with the DWP if you need extra help in your role if successful. 

If you are turned down, your never going to know if it was directly because of a disability or the fact you just didn’t meet their criteria as no employer is going to admit that. 

Lisatho11987777

@MrAllen1976 I think thst people  should say that they have a disability because if you got the job and there was something in the job you struggle with because in my opinion they may think you  just can't do the job properly 

I have had jobs as a disabled person declaring  my disability  and I have had times where I havent been given the job and as @leeCal said I would  hope it wasn't due  to disability  but this is only based on experience and my opinion at the end of the day  the choice would be yours 

janer1967

Hi 

If they ask the question and you are not honest it may get you further through the application process but unless your disability isnt evident at face to face interview then it would be pointless to not declare it and would highlight you did not complete the application honestly 

I would advise if they ask the question answer truthfully if they dont ask then dont declare but again will come to light further down the line 

Also what would be the point of going through the whole process if it is a position you would be unable to do even with adjustments 

You limit your own employability by the restrictions you have like hours , type if work , 

Retailers normally need I high degree of flexibility in working hours due to their opening hours 

Of course it's your choice this is just my opinion having over 30 years in retail recruitment experience 

[Deleted User]

janer1967 said:

Hi 

If they ask the question and you are not honest it may get you further through the application process but unless your disability isnt evident at face to face interview then it would be pointless to not declare it and would highlight you did not complete the application honestly 

I would advise if they ask the question answer truthfully if they dont ask then dont declare but again will come to light further down the line 

Also what would be the point of going through the whole process if it is a position you would be unable to do even with adjustments 

You limit your own employability by the restrictions you have like hours , type if work , 

Retailers normally need I high degree of flexibility in working hours due to their opening hours 

Of course it's your choice this is just my opinion having over 30 years in retail recruitment experience 

IMO you're damned either way, you don't declare, still don't get the job due to lack of experience, you declare, and your application gets insta-binned, especially when you declare that you have Asperger's, which nobody outside of the medical profession has ever heard of, and due to misinformation on the Internet, people think people who aren't Neurotypicaal are <moderator removed offensive term - please be mindful of your language - Cher> or worse.

Cher_Alumni

Hi @MrAllen1976

I understand your frustration, being in a position of eagerly wanting to work but feeling that being disabled is ultimately a barrier.  Although it's easier said than done, keep persevering and try not to become too disheartened.  As our other members have advised, it's best to be open.  There's no shame in having an impairment and being transparent will allow for reasonable adjustments to be made when you find the right employer and job for you.

To add - I've edited out a term in your post that could be interpreted as offensive. Although I understand this is your opinion, the term has discriminatory connotations and as such it has been removed to not upset others.  

janer1967

I have answered your question with my opinion so will refrain from making any further comment on this 

MarkM88

From experience of working in retail management for many years previously, we recruited many disabled people and I can assure you there disability never caused us to bin an application. 

In fact the way we worked was the declaration of disability was never provided to recruiting managers with the application form so we as managers could not judge purely on a declaration. 

janer1967

@MarkN88

You are spot on there 

I worked in retail management for over 30 years mainly hr 

Which company did you work for 

MarkM88

janer1967 said:

@MarkN88

You are spot on there 

I worked in retail management for over 30 years mainly hr 

Which company did you work for 

Worked for ASDA, TJ Hughes & Next. Variety of different supervisory, team leader & management roles, then I got out of retail. 

janer1967

I did 30 years at sainsbury's worked my way up from yts scheme 

MarkM88

janer1967 said:

I did 30 years at sainsbury's worked my way up from yts scheme 

Impressive. I’m not sure I could of lasted 30 years. The 12 I did was bad enough. 

[Deleted User]

MarkN88 said:

From experience of working in retail management for many years previously, we recruited many disabled people and I can assure you there disability never caused us to bin an application. 

In fact the way we worked was the declaration of disability was never provided to recruiting managers with the application form so we as managers could not judge purely on a declaration. 

Surely that proves my point though? If senior management aren't shown evidence of an employee's disability prior to being took on, this means the employee WOULD have been discriminated against if senior management had been involved!

MarkM88

MrAllen1976 said:

MarkN88 said:

From experience of working in retail management for many years previously, we recruited many disabled people and I can assure you there disability never caused us to bin an application. 

In fact the way we worked was the declaration of disability was never provided to recruiting managers with the application form so we as managers could not judge purely on a declaration. 

Surely that proves my point though? If senior management aren't shown evidence of an employee's disability prior to being took on, this means the employee WOULD have been discriminated against if senior management had been involved!

No your misunderstanding. 

To keep the recruitment process fair a recruiting manager would not be informed of a prior declaration so they can’t be judged. 

If that individual then gets offered the job because of their skills, experience, qualifications and interview they gave, where’s the discrimination? 

HR would still have access to the declaration and if the successful person had declared one, this is when it would be discussed. 

Sandy_123

@MrAllen1976 don't do what I did, i didn't declare it on purpose. Got the job then discovered I was having time off, because bits of  the work i was doing, I couldn't physically do. So only lasted 6 months as they told me too much time off.  Went off 3 times in 6 months. Plus other staff called me slow etc, but i couldnt say anything as noone knew my probkems. Lesson learnt 

Cher_Alumni

Hi all,

Just to add some context, there's a well-established disability employment gap with this government research briefing from 2020 stating:

Disabled people have an employment rate that is 28.1 percentage points lower than that of people who are not disabled. 

This means disabled people are statistically working against the odds to gain employment.  

While, reports on to what extent volunteering leads to employment vary, with this study from 2020 showing it can sadly have minimal impact and is further affected by social class.  

Although this paints a bleak picture, @MrAllen1976 your determination to find work and keep on persevering is really to be admired.  Volunteering will have given you good employability skills to add to your CV and as a community we can keep on looking together for opportunities.  Don't give up 

Lisatho11987777

@Cher_Scope with bigger companies like tesco asda and places like that have a good reputation for employing  people with disabilities  i worked in tesco for 4 years  from 2010 and they are pretty good at putting things  in place frim my own experience 

My own opinion working in a charity shop gives you some experience  of customer contact   but I think in my own opinion  that saying someone who has worked in a charity shop  wouldn't be able to work in tesco  is in my own opinion  is border line discrimination  as in my own experience tesco give full training and induction 

Before I worked in tesci I worked in a burger factory makeing burgers  then I was a hairdresser  then worked at tesco  most of my working life has been advocacy  work and careing in the community  but now I am  getting help from scope to work in a job I havent worked in before  only touched on small parts of it in other jobs 

@MrAllen1976 good luck with your job hunting 

[Deleted User]

Cher_Scope said:

Hi all,

Just to add some context, there's a well-established disability employment gap with this government research briefing from 2020 stating:

Disabled people have an employment rate that is 28.1 percentage points lower than that of people who are not disabled. 

This means disabled people are statistically working against the odds to gain employment.  

While, reports on to what extent volunteering leads to employment vary, with this study from 2020 showing it can sadly have minimal impact and is further affected by social class.  

Although this paints a bleak picture, @MrAllen1976 your determination to find work and keep on persevering is really to be admired.  Volunteering will have given you good employability skills to add to your CV and as a community we can keep on looking together for opportunities.  Don't give up 

A few years ago I was told by some fool from an Agency that volunteering doesn't equal real work so is worthless on a CV.

Lisatho11987777

@MrAllen1976 at best it gives you some customer faced experience  and as working as a team and thi gs like that are taken into consideration 

Larger firms do provide training and induction and put things in place for people please don't get disheartened  by it all you will find a job that suits you please keep looking 

MarkM88

Whoever told you that it doesn't mean anything or count for anything in my opinion doesn't have a clue. 

Volunteering can help with maintaining skills and developing others, gaining the experience in an area where you feel you need more and you can use this to progress to paid employment, also a lot of volunteering opportunities give you the chance to work towards qualifications such as NVQs and certificates, which all look good on your CV.

If you have been out of work for a while or never had a job it also provides you with a chance to use them on an application form for a reference which can then demonstrate to an employer how well you are doing.

Alongside this it gives you a sense of achievement, you can feel part of society and part of the local community and that you are making a difference, help build self esteem and confidence and gives you the chance to build aptitude in relation to various tasks. 

In my opinion that is all win win.