Moving into employment with a disability

Job hunting

As all employers need to adhere to the Equality Act 2010, having a disability does not have to limit your job search but you may choose to focus on disability friendly companies or learn more about targeted employment schemes aimed at increasing the inclusion of students and graduates with disabilities.  

Finding a job whilst at University

The Careers and Employability has a range of resources to help you find a job during your time at University.

Finding disability friendly employers

Search for disability friendly employers on the following websites: 

• Disability charity Scope UK - Disability-friendly employers
• GOV.UK Employers that have signed up to the Disability Confident scheme
• My Plus Students' Club - Employers who value talent
• Members – Business Disability Forum
• Mindful Employer - Charter signatories who are positive about mental health
• EmployAbility - Clients

Disability proactive schemes

• Civil Service’s Early Diversity Internship Programme.  An opportunity for those from diverse backgrounds to find out more about the Civil Service and Fast Stream (one week paid). 
• Leonard Cheshire Change 100 Programme of paid summer work placements, professional development and mentoring.  
• EmployAbility run first year, internship, and graduate programmes, as well as vacation schemes and training contract opportunities, with their inclusive employer partners. 

• Aspiring Solicitors help secure vacation schemes and/or training contract for disabled law students through mentoring, coaching, events, scholarships and awards. 
• Civil Service Fast Stream: Summer Diversity Internship Programme gives people from diverse backgrounds the opportunity to see what a career in the Civil Service is like. For students in final two years at university: paid internships six-to-nine weeks over the summer. 
• Disability-grants.org Disabled employment programmes list.

Recruitment processes

When you apply for a job, you will be asked by the employer to complete an application, be it an online form, questions to answer or CV and covering letter. It is likely you will be asked to attend an interview and possibly online tests or an assessment centre.   

Depending on your disability, you may find some of these processes challenging or daunting. If you chose to declare your disability, the employer is legally bound to offer suitable adjustments to support you through these.  

These may include:

• Extra time for tests and written assessments
• Online interviews or phone interviews instead of face to face
• Access to a British Sign Language interpreter
• Or a verbal test rather than a written one.  

If you do not see accessibility or inclusion information within employer adverts or correspondence, then contact employers directly to discuss adjustments that could help you.

Find out more

Articles and resources 

• Target Jobs – Neurodiversity friendly graduate employers Disability friendly employer case studies.  
• Target Jobs - How to get a graduate job if you have a disability FAQs and top tips. 
• Target Jobs - Graduates job hunting and neurodiversity Questions of disclosure and adjustments.

Job sites 

• Evenbreak offer an accessible job search site for disabled people. 
• Disability Jobsite assists people with a disability to participate actively in employment by offering job search and advice.  
• Disabilityjob UK official diversity disability recruitment job board helping talented disability candidates and inclusive employers find each other. 
• My Plus Students' Club support disabled students and graduates into employment by offering job search, advice, events, blogs, and resources. 

Recruitment processes 

• How to approach competency questions, an article on the Careers blog written by Careers Development Advisors.
• MyPlus Students' Club provides practical tips on requesting support in the recruitment process. 
• Target Jobs - Careers events for students with disabilities provides advice on where to find disability friendly careers events and how to make the most of them. 
• Interview advice from Disability Jobsite. 
• Association of Graduates Careers Advisory Service (AGCAS) resources: Psychometric tests – a guide for disabled candidates and taking a test if you have a disability provides advice on possible adjustments available for students and graduates with disabilities and general tips on how to prepare for a variety of online tests.

If you would like to talk through anything related to this book an appointment with a Careers Development Advisor.

Choosing to declare

You control how your disability is discussed. By proactively communicating and being open about your disability, you can feel more empowered and confident, and you can get what you need to make the application process and experience in the workplace right for you.

All employers need to adhere to the Equality Act 2010. Some are proactively signed up to the Disability Confident scheme. Also look for employers' equality and diversity policies online as some employers are keenly promoting diversity in the workplace.  

Your employer will be able to make adjustments. Under the 2010 Act, employers must consider making 'reasonable adjustments' to enable you to work for them. For example, if your disability makes travel difficult at certain times, then an employer could make a reasonable adjustment by allowing you to work different hours.

Financial support is available via the Access to Work scheme grant to help pay for practical support with your work, advice about managing your mental health at work and money to pay for communication support at job interviews.

You are protected by the Equality Act 2010. It is unlawful for employers to discriminate against disabled people in their recruitment and selection procedures.

You may be asked to complete a medical questionnaire. Omitting details or giving false information may prejudice your application adversely. It may also result in dismissal if your disability comes to light after you start the job.

Choosing not to declare

• You may be concerned that an employer will reject your application immediately. 
• You may feel that your application will not be considered on its merits. 
• You may consider your disability or health condition to have no effect on your ability to do the job. As such there is no need to draw attention to it. The Equality Act 2010 states that an employer cannot ask you things about your health that are nothing to do with the job.

Before you decide 

Before applying for any job and making a decision regarding declaring or not, consider the following:

• The nature of your disability and the work involved in the role; do they impact on one another?
• The terms and conditions of the job; are there any health and safety issues that need to be addressed? Declaring will help your employer deal effectively with these.

• The culture of the employer: do they value or promote diversity in the workplace? 
• If your employer is not aware of your disability, they cannot make adjustments to help you succeed in your job. They may also be less flexible in allowing time off for medical appointments.
• The consequences of not disclosing your disability. Could your disability become known in some way in the future? If that happens, how might that affect you? Are there any consequences in relation to your job? What might they be, if any?

Application stage 

• Some application forms ask direct questions about health and disability, or include a medical questionnaire. This is your opportunity to provide information in a clear, structured form.
• Certain job applications (e.g., teaching or health professions) might ask these questions as part of an assessment called Fitness to Practise. 
• Answer any health or medical questions fully and honestly.  
• You may choose to declare via an answer to a question, or when providing a supporting statement. For example, could a situation in which your disability posed a challenge demonstrate the way you have handled something effectively?  

Declaring in your CV or cover letter

When applying for a job with a CV, a cover letter can be good place to declare your disability.

This is an opportunity to be in control of what you want to share in a positive way, whilst demonstrating that your disability has not limited your personal achievements, work, or study performance​. You could explain how one of the strengths of your disability such as attention to detail or creative thinking demonstrates how you meet the requirements of the role.

Check out this example of how to disclose a disability in a cover letter.

However, for others it may feel more appropriate to simply declare in the health questionnaire or wait to a later stage.

Interview stage 

Prior to an interview

If you require support to travel to and/or take part in an interview, it is much easier for an employer to make adjustments, if they are notified in advance. 

This demonstrates to an employer that you are proactive in managing your circumstances well and will help you feel more relaxed in the interview. 

At this point, you do not need to declare the nature of your disability but can still ask for adjustments throughout the application stage. 

During an interview

You may feel you can better address questions about your disability in person, rather than in writing. However, it could mean the interview focuses on your disability rather than what you can bring to the job.

If the interview is conducted properly and fairly this should not occur but be mindful that in answering questions the focus remains on your ability to do the job. 

After you start work 

You might want to assess how you cope in the job before deciding whether you need support. Will you feel more comfortable about declaring once you are established? 

Think also about how you will broach the issue with your manager: how will you explain your disability, how it impacts your work, and how this impact might be mitigated by adjustments? 

Should I tell my colleagues?

Whether to be open with colleagues is up to you. You may encounter colleagues who are unsure how to engage with your disability. How might this affect your working environment? If you feel confident to address this and put them at their ease, then do so. However, do not feel obliged to engage them to a degree that encroaches on your privacy. 

Offensive or inappropriate behaviour regarding your disability is a breach of the law. You should speak to your line manager in this situation.

Find out more

• Association of Graduates Careers Advisory Service (AGCAS) resource: Disclosure advice - Neurodiversity provides advice on what to say to an employer if you decide that you want to tell them about your disability with strengths associated with a wide variety of disabilities.  
• My Plus Students' Club discusses both the benefits of being open with and the impacts of not informing an employer of your disability prior to making your decision. 
• Target Jobs covers all the issues you might want to consider when deciding to declare a disability or not when applying for a graduate job.

If you would like to talk through anything related to this book an appointment with a Careers Development Advisor.

Definition

Once you declare your disability, the 2010 Act states employers must consider making 'reasonable adjustments' to enable you to work for them.  

ACAS, the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service, defines reasonable adjustments as: A 'reasonable adjustment' is a change that must be made to remove or reduce a disadvantage related to:

• an employee's disability when doing their job 
• a job applicant's disability when applying for a job  

By law, an employer must consider making reasonable adjustments when: 

• they know, or could be expected to know, an employee or job applicant has a disability 
• an employee or job applicant with a disability asks for adjustments 
• an employee with a disability is having difficulty with any part of their job 
• an employee's absence record, sickness record or delay in returning to work is because of or linked to their disability.

In the vast majority of cases, adjustments are possible. This will depend on the needs of the employee, the nature of the role and the employer’s ability to put the adjustments in place.

Examples of adjustments

A reasonable adjustment could involve making changes to:

• The workplace 
• Equipment or services provided (both current or new services), for example an appropriate keyboard for someone with arthritis 
• The ways things are done 
• Information being available in an accessible format.

Disabilities can present themselves in a variety of ways. Adjustments need to be appropriate to the individual as well as take into consideration the resources available to the employer.  

Here are some examples of reasonable adjustments typically seen in the workplace: 

• Located away from others/in a separate room if need to be away from distractions from sounds or need space that can be dictated by your needs, such as use of lighting.  
• Dragon or other voice recognition programs to help capture notes easily. 

• Rising desks to combat back issues if working in an office. 
• Flexible hours or agile working options.  
• Time off to attend regular medical appointments. 
• Headsets for phone calls or phones that light up when ringing.  
• More frequent breaks.  
• Different coloured paper for printing and resources and coloured screens. 
• Accessible parking spaces close to the office. 

Familiarise yourself with what adjustments could be suitable for your disability with Association of Graduates Careers Advisory Service (AGCAS) Disability Task Group’s Reasonable adjustments – Neurodiversity advice.

Despite the phase ‘reasonable adjustments’ being the legal term, it is increasing being seen as unhelpful and ambiguous. A useful way to think about these are to consider what your needs are and what can you request to overcome any barriers in the workplace related to your disability. Remember it is reasonable to suggest it if you need it.  

Funding through Access to Work

The employer will pay when an adjustment has a cost, but additional costs can also be covered by a grant called Access to Work  (AtW).

AtW is available for you to apply for if the cost of the adjustment/s is not fully covered by the employer. There should not be a circumstance in which you end up paying for an adjustment.  

Find out more

There are a wide range of ways employers can support you with adjustments. Here are some resources that could help you develop your knowledge about your rights to adjustments, identify what employers could offer and give you confidence in how to ask for them.   

• Scope UK the disability equality charity provides extensive advice on all aspects of reasonable adjustments at work.  
• ACAS the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service offers free and impartial advice on reasonable adjustments in the workplace covering both employee and employer rights. 
• Mind provides advice on reasonable adjustments including draft letters and case studies.  
• MyPlus Students' Club offers advice on recruitment process adjustments.

If you would like to talk through anything related to this book an appointment with a Careers Development Advisor.

Communicate your disability

If you are choosing to be open about your disability before you are offered a job, you can use your disability to help demonstrate relevant abilities and strengths and to show that you are able to solve problems. In addition, you will be reassuring the employer that you are prepared to be solution focused when considering what adjustments may be needed for you to fulfil your potential within the role. 

Demonstrating your strengths

Keep control of the situation 

Focus on your strengths, transferable skills and what you have learnt from your disability. Acknowledging any challenges that you have had and emphasising the ways that you have dealt with them demonstrates your maturity, self-awareness, and determination to succeed.

Some examples: 

• Because of my hearing loss, I have developed excellent levels of concentration. This is demonstrated in my ability to analyse spreadsheets and make performance related forecasts. 
• I have cerebral palsy which affects my walking and my speech. My communication has a few problems which I have learnt to work around by using different words or by just writing them down. Over time people do get tuned it to the way I speak. I also use an electric wheelchair for long distances. I am very aware of problems that other people face and can usually think of ways to overcome or help to alleviate these. 
• Because of my dyslexia, I have developed a range of strategies in the collection and processing of information and in structuring my work. In addition, I make full use of a range of computer software to assist my written work.

Find out more

• Association of Graduates Careers Advisory Service (AGCAS) resource: Disclosure advice - Neurodiversity provides advice on what to say to an employer if you decide that you want to tell them about your disability with detail on how to communicate the strengths associated with a wide variety of disabilities.  
• Disability Rights UK Telling people, you are disabled: clear and easy guide for students. 
• MyPlus Students' Club advice on communicating your strengths.

• Association of Graduates Careers Advisory Service (AGCAS) resource: Explaining your mental health condition provides advice on the decision-making process for declaring, the recruitment process, communicating with employers and getting into work when you have a mental health condition.  
• Careers Skills Workbook can help to assess and communicate your skills to employers. 
• Prospects.ac.uk Example of how to disclose a disability in a cover letter.

If you would like to talk through anything related to this book an appointment with a Careers Development Advisor.