Disabled people face segregation and inequality even in 2016.

The Disability Discrimination Act was introduced in 1995 and further revised in 2005 to make it unlawful to discriminate against people in respect to their disability in relation to employment, the provision of goods and services, education, and transport. The Disability Discrimination Act was replaced by the Equality Act 2010 which incorporated not only disability but gender, ethnicity, religion and so on. The Equality Act 2010 is perceived to be an improvement of the Disability discrimination act, it explains types of discrimination covered such as discrimination by association, by perception, harassment, victimization etc.

How should the Equality Act 2010 Help?

The Equality Act 2010 says that reasonable adjustments should be made to ensure disabled people can access education, employment, housing, goods and services and associations. Reasonable means, if it is reasonable for your disability, how practicable the changes are, if the change would overcome the disabled person’s disadvantage, the organisation size, how much money and resources are available, the cost of making the changes and if changes have already been made.

What’s the problem?

Changes have to be reasonable to the organization size. E.g. if you are a coffee shop with 2 staff would you be able to argue it is not reasonable?

Changes depend on money and resources available. A small independent store has set up, do they have the money is it reasonable? What about a branch of Subway, costa or sStarbucks

How practicable the changes are? A small cafe/restaurant in a town center currently has toilets but they are downstairs. The premises are let and the business is a small independent owner. The landlord does not want to let them put a disabled toilet in either via a lift, or there is not enough space to put one in on the ground level.

Did you know…

In the UK there are only 900 toilets which are known as ‘Changing Places’, these are truly disabled accessible toilets with a hoist, height adjustable bed and often shower as well as other amenities. In the UK, there are 43,000 towns, imagine wanting to go shopping, to the football or cinema and not been able to because you can not go to the bathroom. Imagine growing up with a disability and knowing you have to leave early while your friends stay out because they can go to the toilet and you can not.

Maybe your thinking… But we have standard disabled toilets. We yes, they do exist but the availability of these also varies, for the active and able wheelchair user they are often too small and filled with excess nappy bins or cleaning supplies or used as store rooms. They also do not cater for the population of individuals with severe disabilities who are still functional members of society, they go to school, college, university, they work, have families and have children. They just happen to need a hoist, a larger space, a bed to be changed on etc

Currently, there is a lot of controversy at present about toilet signs such as male, female, disabled, invisible disability, transgender, LGBT etc. How about this solution… stop building male and female toilets

How about this solution… stop building male, female and disabled toilets as separate blocks. Instead take the current small substandard disabled toilet make it perhaps a little bigger and just label it ‘toilet’. In the space that a large store puts men’s, women’s, disabled, baby change etc you could probably get 5-10 of these toilets that would be plenty. Then also add one changing places toilet alongside these and again label it appropriately. If you are somewhere that only has space for one toilet or currently, one male, one female and one disabled. Simple just install a changing places toilet. We need to stop labeling people

We need to stop labeling people, yes people identify as black, white, gay, transgender, Christian, Muslim etc but we do not need toilets for all those separate needs as at the end of the day we all go to the toilet for similar purposes. It is amazing how many people already use disabled toilets now whether it is because it feels private, they have a colostomy you can’t see, the pushchair does not fit in standard toilets, there is more space, the male toilets only have 1 cubicle or need to wash for religious purposes or administer medication. We all appreciate privacy when we use a toilet, so perhaps its time how we design them changed?

Imagine…

Imagine you are out shopping in a busy city center, you go to a shop to find a sign on the door that says…

No entry if you are:

• Black
• White
• Asian
• LGBT
• Christian
• Muslim
• Jewish
• Athiest

How would you feel?

Hurt, angry and a whole mixture of emotions. By having a step with no ramp, an escalator with no lift, toilets but no disabled toilet. You are saying to people with physical disabilities that you do not want them in your shop, restaurant, cinema etc. Sounds really bad, doesn’t it?

Every day, I go somewhere to find a step and ask “Do you have a ramp?”, the response “Oh no sorry”, and that is it, the door is shut in my face, occasionally there is the offer of “let me know what you want and I can serve you from here”, who wants to do their shopping from a door, in the cold and the rain without looking around? Certainly not me.

Largest Minority

Disabled people in the UK and across the world are the largest minority group that exist. While the UK may not be perfect for people who are LGBT, Black, or of different religions, a lot has changed for these groups but not for those with disabilities.

Disabled people are still less likely to be employed or remain in employment compared to any minority group.

Disabled people face segregation and discrimination through physical barriers to the environment every day due to the Equality Act 2010 been vague with the term ‘reasonable’.

Disabled parents compared to non-disabled parents will be scrutinized by social services and often have children removed temporarily or permanently due to the misconception that they can not look after themselves never mind a child.

Disabled people wanting to adopt are less likely to be successfully even if their disability is not significantly physical or they are perfectly capable of parenting. Only recently have adoption agencies started to include information allowing people to adopt with a disability.

What I ask

When you are out, maybe working or just shopping think about how you would get around if you had a disability. If your work has no ramp or no toilet and you find yourself saying “no sorry”, do something about it, most large organizations can afford a ramp. If you have a small shop and you let, approach the landlord or fundraise in the community just showing that you care helps. When it is raining, the car park is too far or you have got a lot of bags, or maybe the cash machine is just there. Do not pull into that disabled bay, go and park your car because your 5 minutes in one of the spaces

When it is raining, the car park is too far or you have got a lot of bags, or maybe the cash machine is just there. Do not pull into that disabled bay, go and park your car because your 5 minutes in one of the spaces may mean I or someone else can not park and it ruins my day. That one space maybe the one space that is suitable for my adapted vehicle which needs a specific size bay for my lift. Be thankful you have good health, you have legs and you have the ability to walk, run and carry those bags.

In 2016 as someone with a disability I should not have to worry that I can not park my car when going to work at hospitals because the disabled bays are full or not suitable, that dropped curbs are not dropped and automatic doors are broken. That the shop near work has a step so I can’t buy my lunch and I have to try and hold my bladder for 3+ hours because I can’t find a toilet I can use. Or that I can’t go shopping or socializing on an evening/weekend because the clubs all have stairs, cinema seats are rubbish for wheelchair users and shop that I can get in have crammed stock so tight that I can’t get down the aisles never mind the people that walk into me.

Finally, spread the word and make changes to stop inequalities!

 

 

Access to Work – An Introduction

What is Access to Work?

If your not from the UK or even if you are access to work is sometimes seen as one of the best kept secrets to help disabled people into work. Access to work is government funding for people with a disability, it helps people to start work or stay in work. There are several rules to be eligible for access to work but generally if you are employed, due to start a job trial or self-employed you will be eligible.

So how does Access to Work Help?

Access to work has basic principles in that it covers agreed additional costs for support that is over an above what a non-disabled person would need to do their job. The support is to allow individuals to overcome workplace barriers arising from their disability but must be of value for money in the most effective way for the taxpayer.

The ATW Cap – What is it?

Is there a monetary value per year of ATW support? Simple answer – Yes! Recently this was not the case but from 01 October 2015 all new claimants have an annual award limit of £40,800 which is 1.5x the national average salary, this rises to £41,400 from April 2016 and will update each year. However, existing customers of ATW before this cap came into place will not be affected until 1st April 2018 (provided needs remain the same).

The Cap is quite complex, ATW advisors are given discretion on applying the cap so for example if you receive an award in Oct 2015 assessed at £50K per year and in Dec 2015 it changes to £60K per year, under new rules of the cap you can’t get anymore support. But if when assessed in Oct 2015 it was 50K per year, Dec 15 it changes to 40K per year and in Jan 16 was 56K, with advisor discretion the support can be 50K per year.

How ATW defines Disability?

Simply if you fall within the Equality Act 2010 definition which is “having a physical or mental impairment that has a ‘substantial’ and ‘long-term’ negative effect on your ability to do normal daily activities”.  ATW does say that if your disability does not have a substantial effect on normal day-to-day activities but has long-term and considerable effects on their ability to do their job they can apply.

Do I need a Medical Assessment/ How do I prove Im Disabled?

Simple answer, you generally do not have to provide any medical evidence or do not attend a medical assessment as in the case of PIP or ESA. The only reason you may need an opinion from a health care professional is if you are asking for help with the ‘travel to work element’.

ATW may also want specialist assessments to determine support need, often they send an assessor who has a general chat about support you require. They send specialist if it is for something specific such learning disability, autism, deafness, blindness.

 

The ‘Elements’ of ATW Support

Access to work has six areas of support provision that they call ‘elements’. These are; communication support at interview, travel to work, support worker, adaptations to premises and equipment, special aids and equipment and miscellaneous.

Communication support at Interview

This helps to employ an interpreter or communicator to accompany an ATW user to a job interview when they would usually find it difficult to understand or make themselves understood. This is mostly used by d/Deaf or hard of hearing people. Although people who have a disability affecting communication in another way can use this.

Travel to Work

This is short or long term financial assistance to help disabled people cover the extra costs of travelling to and from work due to disability. ATW reimburse an agreed portion of the costs of taxis or vehicle adaptations. If ATW adapt a vehicle they expect the customer to contribute a portion usually the number of days you work is used to work this out. If you work 5 days a week so 5/7, the number say 7k is divided by 7 and ATW pay the 5/7 = 5k and you pay 2/7 so 2k. If you only work 3 days a week then ATW pay 3/7 so 3K and you pay 4/7= 4k.

Support Worker

A support worker is fully funded by ATW, the rule is that the Support worker can not replace the disabled person in their job only help therefore if a person has a job aide they can only do upto 20% of the disabled persons job. Support workers include; British Sign Language Interpreters, Carer, Counsellor, Driver, Job-Adie, Job Coach, Lip Speaker, Note Taker, Palantypist, Personal Reader and Travel Buddy.

Adaptations to Premises and Equipment

This covers adaptations such as wheelchair ramps, lifts, widening doors, disabled toilet and washrooms, and upgrades of computers and other equipment.

Special Aids and Equipment

This helps to buy specialised aids or equipment only for employment purposes, this is something that the person needs to do their job that a non disabled person does not need. This is where a wheelchair, power chair or wheelchair power assist may come in as well as specialist communication aids including hearing loops and roger FM systems.

Miscellaneous

This is for one off or short term support that an ATW advisor can’t put under another element

Employer Cost Share

However, employer contributions (cost share) applies depending on the size of the business and amount of money involved. In a medium size business (50-249 employees), anything costing £500 or below ATW will not pay.In a large business (250+ employees) anything costing £1000 or below ATW will not pay.

The Pro’s and Con’s of Access to Work!

Quite simply without Access to Work, I would not be able to maintain my current self employment. Nor would I have been able to maintain any of my previous employed positions. The reality is that their should be equality in the work place, but their isn’t. Many companies have gone a long way with wide doors, lifts, toilets etc but peoples disabilities are so diverse that many companies do not cater for people who need very specialist support to enable them to work.

So how does access to work help me? Well they provide me with funding for a support worker which is absolutely amazing, they fully fund the bill for me to have 38hours a week support worker support. The confusing part is that it has to come under 3 parts, a carer, travel buddy and job aide. So it gets really confusing when I have to pay my ‘support worker’ and then claim this money back as I have to fill in three(3) identical claim forms to itemise the hours I used for each one. That is 6 pieces of paper every month to claim it back and they constantly get returned. To be more frustrating they send the forms via email, but you can not type into them and they must be returned by post. Yes you got it ATW is not yet into the 21st century and Online.

ATW has funded vehicle adaptations for me, but this was a painful process dealing with the advisor who was clueless as to what I asked for. A specialist report was provided highlighting and explaining my needs but still questions such as ‘why do you need electric doors?’ were asked, if they read the report and put 2+2 together they would realise a wheelchair user who uses a lift to get into their car can not open a heavy door with poor arm use. When they came to agreeing costs they agreed to fund.. you guessed it 5/7th of the cost leaving me 2/7th of 27K to pay, Ouch! Apparently these 2/7th are social usage e.g. weekends despite the fact that as a self employed person I do work weekends and I am already paying the lease on the vehicle signing away 13K over 5 years but that is not factored in.

Im now needing another 30K of adaptations to the vehicle for a Paravan system to drive with an again it will be 2/7th that I have to pay, seriously I think they have something wrong here who has this money. Additionally, they think it would be better to provide me with a driver rather than fund these adaptations – more cost effective! Actually if you work out the cost over 5 years (life of vehicle adaptations) of employing a support worker that can drive and thus paying higher it is more expensive plus it takes away independence. So while ATW provides support to enable a disabled person to continue to work, there is no concern over customer choice or maintaining indipendance.

Bizarrely funding for computer software, dyslexia support and other such items does not need a contribution from the customer. Generally a wheelchair user gets a bad deal out of ATW in terms of having to contribute, your better off if employed and your employer will contribute for you. Ironically ATW say that cost share is voluntary to self-employed people although when claiming they insist this is mandatory.

Summary of Pro’s and Con’s

Pro’s

• Enables disabled people to get or maintain a job
• Covers a variety of types of support
• Does not subject you to medicals to ‘prove’ disability
• If you know what you need and have quotes support can be fast tracked
• You can get some high-tech stuff. If for example you are a wheelchair user with an NHS voucher and need a higher spec chair than funded, you can apply to ATW and as long as you justify it you generally get what you need.

Con’s

• Advisors generally are not specialist and lack knowledge
• Each time your situation changes you need to ring to make a new claim and will normally get a new advisor – they have a high turnover.
• They do not look at independence, they look at cost effectiveness.
• You often have to contribute large sums of money you don’t have, leaving you stuck between a rock and hard place as you need the support to keep making money.
• They are technophobes. You can only apply over the phone, they do have email and will communicate via email. Claim forms are sent by paper for support worker others can be signed electronically and emailed. They send a text message to confirm receipt occasionally. They really need an online system.
• The Cap – it is actually very generous but when you need a BSL interpreter or need a support worker plus wheelchair accessible vehicle in the same year it does not work. Advisors need to follow guidance and average it over a period.

Conclusion

ATW from my pro’s and con’s may seem more negative than positive but really do we know any government department that runs great? At the end of the day it is a necessary evil if you need support to enable you to work, the funding available helps circa 30,000 people in the UK maintain employment and could help so many more if they only knew how to use it and if information about it e.g. the government website was more accessible and application was easier.

My message to you – if your disabled and want to work, seek help from a disability advisor, if your in work struggling or setting up self employment or have an interview etc contact ATW and apply and if your not sure what you need they will send someone out who goes over your disability and what could help (these are independent people of ATW although contracted to them so they are not trying to reduce claimants).

If you have a disabled employee or know someone who could benefit from ATW tell them about this and if they want to and need help, help them apply. There is lots of info out there and there are youtube videos available including ones in BSL and with captions.

Useful Links:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/510386/access-to-work-staff-guide.pdf  ( The guide ATW staff use, tells you about all the support and criteria).

https://www.gov.uk/access-to-work/overview (Access to Work info on gov.uk website a brief explanation and contact details, under how to claim there is an eligibility letter you can take to interviews, this often quells employers fears about employing a disabled person been expensive).

First blog post

Welcome to Differently Abled!

This site is for differently abled people alike to read and share stories on life with a disability. In this blog I will write and comment on issues relating to a range of ‘disabilities’.

If you have any suggestions for this site please email charlotte@differently-abled.co.uk

So what is differently abled?

Differently abled is an alternate way of saying the common phrase we use in the UK of disabled. The word disability if we look at its definition means “to lack adequate power, strength, or physical or mental ability”. It can mean “a physical or mental handicap, especially one that prevents a person from living a full, normal life or from holding a gainful job”.

It is easy to see why people may not wish to use the word DISABLED. I would by society be defined as DISABLED. But if we look at that definition my disability does not prevent me from living a full life, nor does it prevent me from holding a job.

In the 1980’s DIFFERENTLY ABLED was proposed as an alternative to DISABLED or HANDICAPPED as it is a more positive message and avoids discrimination towards people with disabilities. However, not many people have opted to use the term.

My View

Personally, I am not offended by the terms DIFFERENTLY ABLED or DISABLED. They are both descriptions, I do however not respond to other terms now currently not accepted especially in the UK such as HANDICAPPED, SPASTIC, LAME, RETARDED etc (you get the picture).

Unfortunately we live in a world where terms are used to describe and define people. The important message I have here is if you are DISABLED or DIFFERENTLY ABLED do not let a definition as above define you, there is no reason why you can not live a ‘full or normal life’, you define what a full and or normal life is. There is also no reason why you can not have a job. You set the targets so aim for them. To people who do not have a disability remember that message do not let a term you have been given define people around you. If you work with someone DISABLED, don’t tell them what they cant do, don’t take over, let them do it themselves unless they ask for help.