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

janer1967

I would disagree there @MrAllen1976 as volunteering shows your willingness to go out to work and follow a work regime as well as work as part of a team 

As I recruiting manager for retail I always took it into account 

I also recruited lots of volunteers and put them through the normal application process to give them experience of interview and gave them a reference on completion 

But as others have said working for a large retail organisation is far different to charity shop work 

You need to often be multi skilled to carry out lots different tasks 

Also against popular belief retail is very hard work and challenging 

Lisatho11987777

@janer1967 it is hard work in large retail stores but they do give training and inductions from my own experience  I think thst mr Allen would fair well on checkouts and large retail do have a good reputation for employing people with 

Tesco where I live has a lovely lady on checkouts that has down syndrome  she has worked there for about five years  she loves it and in my opinion I think its fantastic 

My cousin has down syndrome and works for barcleys  Bank with the right help and support most things in my opinion are acheviable 

janer1967

@lisathomas50 I agree the big retailers give excellent training and inductions and make reasonable adjystments for disabilities and have lots experience working alongside disabled 

Not sure if would suit mrallen as I am not too sure on his individual disabilities and if he feels able to communicate with general public in a customer facing role but only he can make that call 

[Deleted User]

janer1967 said:

@lisathomas50 I agree the big retailers give excellent training and inductions and make reasonable adjystments for disabilities and have lots experience working alongside disabled 

Not sure if would suit mrallen as I am not too sure on his individual disabilities and if he feels able to communicate with general public in a customer facing role but only he can make that call 

I want to be facing customers, I do not want to be "hidden away" in the Warehouse because they're ashamed to admit they hired a disabled guy.

janer1967

@MrAllen1976 that's good I wasnt saying you couldn't do this if you read it it says I didnt know if you felt able to

Again anything I say to you is taken in the wrong context I am only trying to help 

I wont waste my time anymore 

Good luck 

Lisatho11987777

@janer1967 yes I would agree there if Mr Allen felt he may be able to do that sort of job I my experience he would get support if he could get that type of job 

Mr Allen has said in previous posts that he had applied for the co op   I only disagreed with a post that said some one who has worked in a charity shop cant work in a place like tesco  I worked in several charity pop up shops to raise money  and did several other different jobs before I worked for tesco for 4yesrs and then I did completely the opposite and worked in boots pharmacy part time for 3years  then went into care whilst still doing my advocacy work my point being where you have worked  before doesnt define where you can work ? 

Lisatho11987777

@MarkN88 it was said further up the thread 

leeCal

I know someone who has cerebral palsy who works exclusively on the checkout of a major national supermarket and has done so for many years now. He has even won mini awards for his cheery style etc and is thought of as a valued member of staff. He has mobility problems and must use crutches, hence the checkout only.

Prior to that job he had no job experience at all and he was twenty five or so, so it can be done. 

Lisatho11987777

@woodbine I have done many different jobs and scope are helping me find a job and training for a job I have never done before  but it hasn't stopped me from trying 

I agree that there is no level playing field  but it doesn't mean that if a person with disabilities  applys for a job that they won't get it  it may not be your intention but in my opinion it seems that your saying that we shouldn't bother applying  its not just people with disabilities that cant find work its also people who haven't  yes people from Debenham are looking for jobs but all stores and shops have different ways of doing things we will use tesco as an example  somebody from Debenham couldnt just walk in and do the job they would have to still be trained even if you have worked for tesco before 

Ami2301

What experience have you gained from volunteering @MrAllen1976?

Lisatho11987777

Lisatho11987777

I found this interesting in the saga magazine  

leeCal

I remember getting a job doing shift work in a factory and they actually preferred older applicants because they thought they were more likely to stay in the job and be better time keepers. That was at a time when jobs were so plentiful that you could be unemployed on a Tuesday and in work by Thursday, especially if you simply had a drivers licence. Times have changed.

[Deleted User]

Ami2301 said:

What experience have you gained from volunteering @MrAllen1976?

Customer service, Till work, typing experience, Telephone answering, Radio experience, Shelf stacking, crfedit/debit card handling, cash handling.

Lisatho11987777

@leeCal that was done last year to be fair I was using it as an example that other people have problems with jobs  because of how wages are worked out  younger people are cheaper to employ but lack experience in my opinion and from experience  I just found thst piece interesting 

Lisatho11987777

@woodbine sorry to here asda has done that tesco have created alot of jobs in my area and across Wales  I belive though that tesco only give part time contracts which is reaky good but plenty of over time is available the same with amazon  and delivery drivers  these tpes of jobs have survived the pandemic 

Lisatho11987777

@woodbine I can only comment on wales as that is where I live and wanted people to know thats where I was commenting  about  and there is no need to swear you should know better unless you have a condition that you have and can't help  it 

cupcake88

Hi every one as some of you will do I ended up taking an employer to tribunal they settled before it got that far as they knew they were in the wrong and I would of won had it gone to court ,

I personally told them at interview bout my mental illness the fact I hear voices the fact I have episodes of pychosis I was really honest bout my mental illness and explained how my medication effects me also and how I would need a patient employer they said they would support me ect and they treated me horribly the amount of discrimination and bullying I faced there was disgusting and the fact they thought they would get away with it was more shocking . I was covered under the equality act it’s there to protect Disabled people . The fact that my employer knew bout my disability and treated me the way they did ment I was most likely going to win in court . It’s disgusting I had to go threw all of that but from what my mental health nurse explained to me most places will just take you on and then when your disability effects you at work they treat you terribly. 

But there are some decent places with understanding employers but I would highly recommend always being honest bout your disability. 

Lisatho11987777

@cupcake88 I am sorry you went through that it must have been awful  I hope now that this problem is few and far between  I think alot of tribunals may now well be about how employers hsve treated employees  in the pandemic in my opinion time will tell  they are starting to trickle through 

cupcake88

@lisathomas50 I’m not sure bout that . I’m guessing there will be a lot more tribunals to do with covid .

unfortuently there are a lot of employers who treat employees like this not just to do with disability. 

I think the only way to deal with This problem is if more and more disabled people take there employers to tribunal it will make that company think twice in how they treat people . 

It was the support from this forum that encouraged me not to give up it Can be long and draining but bullies need to be stood up too .