Chapter thirty-one
EMPLOYMENT
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Chapter thirty-oneEMPLOYMENT |
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Note: This is the original text of the chapter in the 1992 book and it has not been updated. Page numbers refer to pages in the book.
What sort of jobs do YPAs already do?
Deciding what work you could do
Getting or keeping work: who can help you
Getting a job: some tips
Already in a job when arthritis strikes?
Points of law and disabled employees
Employment and benefits
Helpful publications
Many younger people with arthritis work normally. Some, like me, are in full-time employment outside the home. Others work from home, either in paid employment, or perhaps doing unpaid voluntary work. Some opt instead to be full-time housewives/househusbands (housespouses/housespice?). In this chapter I'm going to concentrate on paid employment.
Not everyone feels up to doing a job. At one extreme many YPAs are so mildly affected that they have few or no problems. Other people simply can't work, or have to work in some form of sheltered employment. Most YPAs are somewhere between the two extremes, sometimes wobbling nearer one than the other, depending on how much we can maximise our abilities (the 'can dos'), minimise our disabilities (the 'can't dos'), and overcome the handicaps put in our way by other people and by conditions such as access, mobility, inflexible working hours. Success brings worthwhile rewards: money (and the priceless independence that goes with it), a sense of purpose, self-esteem and self-confidence, social contact and social status.
I hope this chapter gives you encouragement and helpful tips. Getting and keeping a job isn't easy at the best of times. However, with courage, determination, and persistence you're half-way there. The right information helps considerably, too. Alas, even some professionals – even some doctors and Disablement Resettlement Officers (DROs) – suffer from the 'ignorance handicap', so don't assume they necessarily know everything.
Perhaps one day we'll be able to get all the help and information we need by consulting just one wonder-person (complete with wonder-computer). The right job will be identified and any employer will be so well-informed that s/he will be able to ignore the arthritis and judge you, the employee, solely on your abilities and job potential… But back to earth now, with a bump. At present you're the person who must (and can) do most for yourself. Not completely on your own. There is information and help out there for the asking, but it's up to you to do the asking!
Time for some ideas and encouragement, before you get too downhearted. Here are examples of paid jobs some of us already do/have done, which all go to show that if you want to work, and if the arthritis lets you, you shouldn't be discouraged.
Employment agency interviewer (female with RA) British Petroleum (male, RA)
Cashier in Sainsburys' (female with RA)
Personnel officer in the DSS (female, JCA)
Worker in residential children's home (female, RA)
Clerical assistant in centre for handicapped people (female, RA)
Secretary for local Consumer Council (female with JCA)
Clerk in British Airways Revenue Accounts Department (female with JCA)
Trainee doctor (female with RA)
Staff nurse in a London hospital (female with RA)
Estate agent (male with RA)
Librarian at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich
Local government manager (male, RA)
Senior manager in firm of auditors (male with RA)
Freelance photographer (male with RA)
Legal executive (female with RA)
Administrator with the British Council (female with JCA)
Stockbroker (female with JCA and partial sight)
'Setter' – setting machines and jigs for 100 people to work on (male with RA)
Foster parent (female with RA)
Member of parliament (Jo Richardson, Labour MP with RA)
Local councillor (female with RA)
Hospital telephone operator (female, with RA)
Central Television office worker (female, AS)
Computer programmer with the RAP (female with RA, and blind)
Equal Opportunities Officer for a County Council (female, psoriatic arthritis)
One 25 year old has set up his own employment agency (male with RA and blind)
Self-employed, male with RA, offering CAD (computer aided design) planning and design service to small businesses
Administrative Officer in Disability Resource Centre (female, JCA)
Some people with arthritis have achieved fame through their work – see chapter 29.
Some YPAs who can't manage a full-time job have found the 'Sheltered Placement Scheme' helpful. A sponsor shares financial responsibility with a host employer (details from DROs). One sponsor is the Shaw Trust. Here are some examples of people with rheumatic disorders the Trust has sponsored, the jobs they're in, their 'assessed working ability' (WA), hours of work, and location:
Male, aged 48, with AS: assistant architect; 60% WA, 37 1/2 hours, Cirencester;
Female, 27, with RA/Still's: general office work, 30% WA, 30 hours, Trowbridge;
Male, 53, polyarthritis: technician, 60% WA, 30 hours, Winchester;
Male, 24, RA: admin assistant, 55% WA, 36 hours, Cheam;
Female, 41, RA: clerical assistant, 40% WA, 20 hours, Wrexham;
Female, 18, arthritis: telephonist/receptionist/clerk, 50% WA, 38 hours, Llanelli;
Female, 42, arthritis of spine and hands: telephonist/clerk, 60% WA, Carmarthen;
Female, 23, RA: clerical/lab assistant, 45% WA, 40 hours, Port Talbot;
Male, 39, RA: vehicle mechanic, 50% WA, 40 hours, Hereford;
Female, 37, RA: medical secretary, 60% WA, 18 hours, Norwich;
The scheme means you can work in an ordinary workplace with non-disabled people. Even if your output is lower than your colleagues', you receive the full wage for the job, because costs are shared between the host (who pays only for your actual output) and a sponsor, who could be a local authority, a voluntary organisation, or Remploy. Host firms have included Chappell Music International, Gainsborough Chocolates, Jaguar Cars, Laura Ashley, London Electricity Board, Tesco, F W Woolworth.
Think 'non-disabled'
First, remind yourself that you're an individual, first and foremost, with a whole lot more to you than just arthritis. Don't be browbeaten by other people (even some DROs or doctors) into accepting their limited notions of what 'a disabled person' or 'an arthritic' can – or can't – do. You've already seen examples of what some YPAs have achieved. That doesn't mean they haven't had their problems, but it does mean many, at least, can be overcome. And of course the frontiers of what anyone can do are being pushed back all the time, by modern technology, improved social attitudes, etc.
So don't overlook everything that's on offer for people without arthritis or a disability! Otherwise you'll close too many doors, and goodness knows these days everyone, disabled or not, needs to keep as many open as possible. To become, say, a secretary, a bookkeeper, a lawyer, an accountant, a banker or a computer programmer, get all the advice available for any non-disabled person:
OK, exclude anything totally unrealistic; there are plenty of non-arthritic reasons for excluding lots of things, anyway. But do first keep the emphasis on your interests and abilities, and on what you'd like to do. Only after that think about special needs and problems. Think positive, as obstacles that may seem insurmountable can often be overcome, and if you think positive, it'll rub off on other people, including prospective employers, and get them thinking positive too.
With physical abilities below par, concentrate on non-physical skills. Use education and training (see chapter 30) to the full, and where possible to give you qualifications that prove those abilities to employers. Elizabeth, for instance, did a YTS course in typing, word processing and general office duties. That led to a position with Central Television as a YTS trainee, and she was later taken on to their permanent staff.
Other things, like voluntary work and hobbies, interesting in themselves, can give you useful experience and prove to a potential employer your abilities, commitment and reliability. Karen, for instance, did voluntary work for Women's Aid, and for a community programme dealing with alcoholism. She's now got a full-time paid job as admin officer in a Disability Resource Centre.
You'll get ideas from what other YPAs have done, and how about other possibilities like telephone sales work (for newspapers, airlines, banks etc), employment agency work, estate agency work, word processing, correspondence tutoring, private coaching, book-keeping and accountancy? COIC's Second Chances (page 244) is a good source of ideas and information.
The rapidly expanding field of information technology (IT), working with computers, suits many people. The more obvious openings include programming, systems analysis, word processing, computerised book-keeping, hardware research, design, construction and manufacturing, technical support and user training. Some office employment agencies, Alfred Marks, for instance, have set up high street learning centres to introduce people to personal computing and skills such as word processing and spreadsheets. Computer skills may even enable you to work at home (see chapter 32). Look too at page 291.
Find out more by getting COIC's leaflet Working in Computers, and by looking at books such as The Handbook of Information Technology (CRAC/Hobsons Publishing), which describes the wide variety of jobs available, courses and over 800 employers. You can also get helpful information on training courses and employment using microcomputers from OUTSET, and from the British Computer Society (which has a Disabled Specialist Group). Last, but not least, DROs in jobcentres can help in various ways, even by providing computing equipment for work at home or in an office, and can advise on training, and can sometimes put you in touch with prospective employers.
If you're already trained and well qualified before arthritis strikes, that's often an advantage, though you may still face problems; even, at worst, the threat of redundancy, though employers and employees are now encouraged by the government's Code of Good Practice to consider less drastic alternatives first, such as rethinking your current job or maybe retraining you for something else.
Be realistic, too
OK, so you have got arthritis. OK, so it does have to be taken into account. What can you do to minimise its effects? Are there any jobs you'd do better to avoid?
Make sure, first, you're getting good medical care. Change your GP if necessary and ask to see a rheumatologist if you haven't already seen one. Though there's no cure yet, there's so much that can be done and you need to be sure it's being done, so that the 'bad' or 'worse' times are minimised and so that as much of your energy as possible can be diverted away from battling with the arthritis and back to other things like work. A good job in turn will help keep your morale up and Arthur Itis firmly in his place.
Remember that types of inflammatory arthritis like RA or AS, are 'up and down' disorders, with bad or variable times, but, thank goodness, with good or better times too. Remissions may last months or years or for ever, and even in persistent disorders modern medicine can minimise problems, so that many YPAs are potentially capable of working once the bad episode is over or once medical treatment has brought the rheumatic disorder's activity under control.
Find out through your doctor whether any special work guidelines apply to your particular sort of arthritis and you. Keep in mind any advice on joint care given to you by your healthcare team, so you don't choose a totally unsuitable job. Some general guidelines now to be going on with. First, from consultant rheumatologist, Professor J M H Moll:
"Certain occupations are particularly liable to put an extra strain on your rheumaticky parts – especially your back… mining, farm labouring, and working in the docks. Jobs involving forceful manoeuvres and repetitive work may aggravate or trigger rheumatic problems in your hands and arms. Working in cold, damp surroundings may increase rheumatic pains, but contrary to general opinion, these factors do not cause rheumatic ailments." (Arthritis and Rheumatism, Churchill Livingstone's Patient Handbook).
Melvyn Kettle and Bert Massie's Employers' Guide to Disabilities (Woodhead-Faulkner in association with RADAR), writing on rheumatoid arthritis:
"Where the wrists and fingers are painful and swollen there will be difficulty in gripping small objects, grasping, using manual typewriters, picking up heavy objects and applying sustained pressure on small pieces of equipment."
Though it's amazing what arthriticky hands can do, given the right equipment (eg word processor) and the absence of a flare-up.
Ankylosing Spondylitis. A Guidebook for Patients, published by NASS (National Ankylosing Spondylitis Society), advises:
"Pay special attention to the position of your back when at work, so that you do not have to stoop. If you sit at a desk or bench, see that your seat is at the proper height and do not sit in one position too long without moving your back. A job that gives a variety of sitting, standing and walking is ideal. The most unsuitable work is one in which you stoop or crouch over a bench for hours at a time. If you have a heavy or tiring job do not tackle other activities at home or elsewhere until you have had a break, if necessary, resting flat for a time. It may also help if you can rest flat for twenty minutes at mid-day. At such times try to lie for part of the time facing downwards. If your job is entirely unsuitable and involves much stooping or back pain, talk this over with your doctor. He, or a doctor from the Employment Medical Service [see page 260] may be able to advise you on how you may change to more suitable work."
For people with Raynaud's phenomenon, the Raynaud's Society advises avoiding situations where you're exposed to cold. Sometimes Raynaud's develops in someone who works with vibrating tools (eg chain saws, floor polishers). The Raynaud's is then known as 'Vibration White Finger' (an industrial disease eligible for compensation). Workers with polyvinyl chloride may similarly develop ulcerations of the fingers due to spasm of the arteries.
J Edmonds and G Hughes wrote encouragingly about juvenile chronic arthritis:
"Overall, 70-80% of children make a satisfactory recovery without serious functional impairment. At 15 year follow-up, more than 80% of a group of children with JCA were able to work." (In Lecture Notes on Rheumatology, Blackwell Scientific, 1985)
Remember – problems are for solving – though the arthritis itself can't be removed, plenty of the problems caused by it or by the environment can be. One of the best people to help is a good OT. More about OTs on pages 38, 142 and in chapter 6.
Think 'disabled' – are there any advantages?
Now you're going to think I'm barmy, having earlier told you to 'think non-disabled'. But bear with me and let's turn things upside-down. Employment is an area where there are sometimes advantages in accepting the label 'disabled', even if you simply don't consider yourself disabled. Some people wear the label in an official sense, by becoming 'registered disabled' (page 126); others in an unofficial sense, just by acknowledging they have a disability.
What advantages? Even if you're not badly affected, 'wearing the label' can sometimes give you access to that extra bit of financial or practical help through a jobcentre, or extra flexibility in an employer which could make all the difference to your working, and working enjoyably and successfully too.
Unfortunately there can also be disadvantages, especially if you're dealing with a prejudiced, ignorant, or misinformed employer. Twenty years ago 'the label' was a big hindrance. I believed it would reinforce other people's prejudices against me, and even without it I did have a very difficult time, first getting a job, and then getting satisfactory terms of employment from my employer.
Nowadays I do wear the label, with fewer misgivings, and do see advantages to myself or to other people (the 'stand-up-and-be-counted advantage' for instance). By working and being registered I hope too I'm making my own tiny contribution to showing society that disability doesn't mean 'inability'. I decided to become officially registered six years ago, which coincided with my employer becoming an Equal Opportunities Employer. I confess however that the main reason was because I wanted to learn to fly, and had applied for a Sir Douglas Bader Flying Scholarship (page 291), open only to registered disabled people! Other advantages?
It's to the benefit of all of us to take advantage of progress already made and to build on it for the sake of other people with disabilities and special needs.
Doctor/social worker/occupational therapist
Your doctor might help by giving you letters of support, eg to get working hours changed, so you can avoid the rush hour, work a flexitime system, or have a rest at lunchtime; or help you get a special parking space; or to help testify to your wonderful perseverance and self-motivation; or perhaps to support a request for your job to be kept open during extended sick leave, for instance if you're trying a second-line drug, like gold, a doctor might be prepared to testify that it's likely to take 10 to 20 weeks to show results, and could ask for you to be given an appropriately long period of grace.
A social worker could help you sort out practical and financial difficulties, eg transport, benefits. If you receive income support, or other benefits, seeking paid employment will affect them. The position's complicated, so get early advice.
An OT can give lots of practical help, especially with joint care and overcoming functional problems, eg hand problems using a phone, writing, typing; seating difficulties, can help you organise your life to make the most of limited energy rations, suggest ways of getting working conditions adapted, eg special equipment, hours of work, fitting in rest periods. Ask for an assessment by an OT. Later, if your condition changes or you come across new or different problems, ask for another. More about OTs in chapter 6.
Other people with arthritis
Find out how they've overcome difficulties. Often simple adjustments can make all the difference. I now work happily full time, with difficulties overcome by, for instance, keeping a folding longreach gadget in my drawer, having files shelved beside me at the right height, sitting on a higher than normal chair, access to a word processor (though I dictate most letters on an audio-typing system), and, best of all, the joy of flexitime which lets me harmonise my ups and downs with the job's, to our mutual advantage. Carol J's had RA since she was 18 months old. She described her work with the Civil Service:
"My work mainly consists of sitting at a desk answering telephone enquiries and writing letters. Sometimes I have to carry books etc from one desk to another but if it's too heavy or if I can't cope then I tell them and someone will lift the items for me. Something I do find difficult is getting things from a high shelf because I'm only 4'6" but again I ask and someone lifts it down for me. I drive to and from work and am lucky enough to have a place reserved in the car park." (In Contact)
Another YPA works in British Airways Revenue Accounts Department:
"I do find work tiring but can cope providing I don't have too many late nights. I have a desk job, so there is not too much walking around. I work in a multi-storey building, with the car park directly below. Ideal in bad weather, no walking on snow or ice, and a lift straight to the offices. Only disadvantage is the building is large, and there is a bit of a walk from the lift to my place of work. It keeps me fit though!" (In Contact)
See if your self-help group can give you any helpful information. NASS, for instance, makes a special point of helping people with AS and employment queries.
Citizen's Advice Bureau (CAB)
Independent general advice and information. If they can't help they'll usually know someone who can. And in the tricky area of benefits and officialdom you can try out questions at the CAB that you might hesitate to put directly to an 'official' (eg how would doing a particular job affect your benefits?). Try CAB for help too if you face legal difficulties in your employment, eg job dismissal. (More about CAB on page 1l8)
Jobcentres, DROs and government training and employment schemes
Jobcentres provide a job-finding and advisory service. They used to be part of the Manpower Services Commission (MSC) but are now run by the Employment Service (ES), an agency in the Employment Department Group. If you can't find the address of your local jobcentre in an old phone book, try looking under 'Manpower Services Commission'.
An excellent introduction to the many ways jobcentres can help is the free booklet Just the Job, available by post (see Just the Job in Appendix 2). Jobcentres are run on a self-service basis. Disabled or not, you can apply for any of the jobs advertised. You'll find useful leaflets too, eg the Jobhunting Pack. Although there are specialist services for disabled people, don't restrict yourself to those. Make sure you're told about what's available to anyone, disabled or not.
DROs (Disablement Resettlement Officers) are jobcentre staff who specialise in helping people with a disability (whether registered disabled or not). DROs also liaise with employers and should know about job openings locally. A home visit can usually be arranged if you're physically not able to get to the jobcentre.
The sort of help you'd get from a DRO varies in practice. Some DROs know more than others. You'll probably get more help if you go in with some clear ideas yourself, about what you'd like to do, and what might be realistic, eg rather than saying 'What can you do for me?', try something like:
"I'd really like to apply for a job in 'Browns' on the industrial estate, working in their data processing department, but I think I'd need some special gadgets to help me, and I'm worried about the travelling involved. 'Browns' might look at my hands and my stick, and think I can't cope, but maybe a trial period of employment would convince them I could."
Try not to get too disheartened by the effort you might have to put into getting the right sort of help: as Martin Ellingford said, in In Contact:
"Professional advice from a doctor, or DRO in my experience, is only useful once you have come to an initial decision about your future. Often comments are made by people who know too little about the nature of arthritis to give any intelligent advice."
DROs can tell you about special training and employment services for disabled people, and they're explained, too, in various helpful leaflets (eg leaflet PWD 16, Jobhunting for People with Disabilities) available from DROs/your jobcentre. If you can't get to the jobcentre easily, phone and ask if they'll post them to you. Many are also available by post from RADAR (send a second-class stamp for the publications leaflet which lists them all).
Take note, too, of what's available to encourage employers to employ people with a disability. It might make all the difference to your getting (or keeping) a job if you can tell an unknowing (many are) employer that s/he could be paid to give you a trial period, or the DRO could provide adaptations to premises or special equipment considered essential to help you, etc. Employers' leaflets are also available through RADAR and these include the Code of Good Practice on the Employment of Disabled People.
Examples of special schemes and leaflets available (shown in brackets) as I write include:
Non-disabled schemes may also be relevant. Eligibility rules are often made easier for people with a disability, so don't let the ordinary rules put you off applying, through your jobcentre. The schemes are outlined in Just the Job. For example:
The Disablement Advisory Service (DAS)
Part of the Employment Service. Knowing about DAS might help you point an employer in the right direction to get help to help you. Many employers don't realise they can contact DAS for advice on improving job opportunities for existing or prospective employees, eg advice on practical and financial help, on job restructuring, career development and retention. Why not hand an unknowing employer the leaflet Disablement Advisory Service (EPWD 12)? DAS can be contacted through jobcentres or the Employment Service Head Office.
The Employment Medical Advisory Service (EMAS)
Can be contacted through local offices of the Health and Safety Executive or EMAS Head Office. Nationwide organisation of doctors and nurses (Employment Medical Advisers), who can advise disabled people on any aspect of their fitness for work, and advise employers on any health and safety aspect of the employment of disabled people. They also advise doctors, trade unions, DROs, etc, on medical aspects of employment and training. Maybe if you're having trouble at work you could try them as a sort of 'third party' (like a marriage guidance counsellor), sometimes a helpful way of resolving difficulties, especially if the 'third party' can bring in fresh ideas and specialist knowledge.
EMAS also advise on fire safety procedures, so if these worry you or your employer, get on to the experts. Getting you out in a fire needn't mean adaptations to premises; EMAS may suggest simple alternatives, such as a carrying sling or transi-seat, kept handy to carry you downstairs in an emergency.
Opportunities for People with Disabilities
Like an employment agency. Any disabled person in the areas covered by its offices can seek advice on getting a job, retraining, or career development. It's funded by enlightened employers and has charitable status. It was founded in 1980 by the Chairmen of the Bank of England, BP, CEGB, IBM, Midland Bank, P & 0, Price Waterhouse, Sedgwick Group, Stock Exchange, and Unilever. All its senior staff are on secondment from industry or commerce, eg big banks, Marks and Spencer, IBM, ICI, Access, so they have practical experience of the working world. There are offices in several parts of Britain. Opportunities Annual Report 1985 mentioned a young man with heart trouble and arthritis, who was found work as a plant engineer in a small precision toolroom machining firm. Opportunities also works to educate and advise employers.
Disabled Graduates Careers Information Service (DGCIS)
Helpful careers and information service for people with a disability, and for careers advisers and employers. Databank of graduates in open employment. Unemployed disabled graduates can join the job vacancy list for details of openings with employers keen to take on disabled people.
Association of Disabled Professionals (ADP)
Charity, founded 1971. Useful source of information and advice based on real experiences of professionals with various disabilities. Members' professions include law, engineering, medicine, accounting, teaching, management. ADP works to improve opportunities for all disabled people. Publishes regular, informative bulletin.
Local schemes
Find out what special schemes may be operating in your area. Ask your town hall information service, social services, CAB, local DIAL/disability advice centre. As I write, for instance, Suffolk County Council has announced that any disabled person who applies for a job will automatically get an interview. Elsewhere, local authorities are funding schemes to put disabled employees in touch with employers.
Careers advice
The right careers advice may help you find the job you want. Look back at page 254 and 244.
Read the advice given in the publications on page 268. RADAR's Into Work is a particularly good guide (free!) to the process of applying for a job, the interview, your rights, etc.
Job-seeking techniques
Brush up on the basic techniques which anyone needs, arthritis or no arthritis. From a jobcentre, get Jobhunting for People with Disabilities (PWD 16) and the pack on Jobhunting (both free). Look at something like the Consumer Association's Getting a New Job. Ask at your jobcentre about jobclubs (page 260), where you can get useful tips and practical help. Write for CRAC's publications list, which includes Decide for Yourself, to help you choose your career, Write Your Own CV, and Surviving Interviews.
Increasing your chances
Apply for jobs where you can make the most of your skills and interests. Don't just wait for vacancies to appear: an amazing number of jobs (You and Yours TV programme in March 1987 estimated about 70%) are filled without advertising. Write to firms that interest you, mention to anyone you know that you're looking for work, watch for news of new firms opening, contact Opportunities for People with Disabilities, etc.
Go for a firm which says it's an Equal Opportunity Employer or 'welcomes applications from disabled people'; it's likely to have a fairer and more informed attitude. Large organisations (eg local government, civil service, banks) usually have more flexible practices (eg flexitime), more financial resources, better facilities and more generous sick leave provision. They may also have more experience of employing people with disabilities. Keep in mind practicalities like commuting time and methods.
Apply with as much thoroughness as you intend to put into a job when you get it. And meanwhile occupy your unemployment in ways you can use to impress a potential employer, eg with a demanding hobby, or community work. A temporary spell working in a Citizen's Advice Bureau, for instance, looked good on my application forms.
Details count
Aim to create a good impression from the start, from the first application form or first letter and CV. Think of everything as your own personal advertisement and ensure you're advertising a well-organised person who's serious enough about getting a job to take time and trouble over it. Write clearly and legibly, or type (unless they specify handwriting). Letters on A4 paper look businesslike and are less likely to get lost on the employer's file. Be informative but keep to the point. Tailor your application to the job you're looking for. Keep a dated copy for reference. If you're writing on the off-chance of a vacancy, say you'd welcome any advice or information if there isn't a vacancy currently available.
Accentuate the positive
All the time, stress your abilities. That's what the employer's looking for: relevant skills and abilities, evidence of commitment and enthusiasm, and someone who's going to fit in well. Focus attention on just how right you'll be for the job and company. Don't go into a lot of detail about arthritis and 'problems'!
Formal qualifications help tremendously, so do what you can to increase them. But non-formal skills and personal qualities can also prove a lot, if you write or talk about them the right way. Hobbies, voluntary work, household management skills, etc, can all be used to demonstrate qualities sought by an employer. For instance, family tree researching as a hobby can demonstrate attention to detail, an enquiring mind, perseverance and commitment to a long-term task. Interest in penfriends shows that you can write/communicate, and are interested in other people. 'Playing' with a home computer can demonstrate no end of skills – mental, yes, but manual dexterity too, to someone who may have doubts about your hands. Even mention of travelling on holiday, driving a car, etc, can an help reinforce the idea of you as an active, doing, person.
Don't be put off by the fancy terms employers use, for instance, communication skills, administrative ability, interpersonal skills (relating to other people), management of resources (managing time, money, other people), delegating and supervising skills, financial planning. Most are as as necessary for running a home as they are for running a business successfully, and you're probably already skilled in many, if not most of them.
How much should you say about the arthritis, and when?
(1) At the application stage Only you can really decide. If an application form specifically asks about disability, then best to mention it, but keep what you say short, and in your favour. If it doesn't ask, then you might choose to wait till later, till you're offered an interview. Whatever you decide, don't make it seem the main feature of your application, and don't go on about 'problems'. No employer wants to take on a 'Problem'! Whatever you say, make it a positive, encouraging statement, eg something like this, if true:
Put yourself in the employer's shoes – what questions may come to mind as s/he reads your application for a job that involves typing, for instance? S/he may think 'RA equals crippled hands – how can crippled hands type?' You could write something like:
You might want to include among your referees a professional who knows about your disorder (eg DRO, doctor or OT) provided you trust them to give a fair and positive picture of your abilities, including, if relevant, how you've overcome any problems. Discuss in advance what they might say. Even the most well-intentioned referee can inadvertently write something an employer might misinterpret negatively. You don't have to wait to be asked to name a referee; if you think it would be to your advantage, offer a name or send a reference anyway.
(2) How much should you say at an interview? Even if you say little or nothing about the arthritis at the application stage, do be prepared to say more if the application gets taken further. Evading the issue might cause problems later. At worst, whether you win or lose a claim on unfair dismissal against an employer could depend on whether or not you'd disclosed your arthritis. Instead, better to take the initiative yourself, anticipate questions about your arthritis, and be prepared.
Practise for the interview with a friend playing the employer's part. Be ready with calm, straightforward answers, which illustrate how brilliantly you manage yourself and the arthritis. Don't ramble on about difficulties (eg with shopping or cooking or dressing or washing) which have nothing to do with the job you're applying for. Handling tricky questions the right way can do as much as anything to convince an employer of your efficiency and aptitude for doing a job well. Being evasive or fearful or unprepared or emotional will make him/her uncomfortable and won't help you sell yourself.
Impress the employer that you have the right attitude. For instance, s/he asks 'how will you cope with…?'. You, with a convincing, reassuring smile, say 'There's always away around a problem…', 'My arthritis has made me very skilled at problem-solving' or 'Luckily, I'm very resourceful. I usually know or can find out where to go for a solution to a problem even if I can't immediately think of a solution myself.' Don't begin with something negative, like agreeing 'Yes, I do have dreadful trouble with my legs…' (even if that's true).
What skills have you learned (even unwillingly) through your illness? Ability to adjust to change, flexibility, problem-solving skills, organisational skills, ingenuity, resilience, patience, self-motivation? What about psychology too – eg how people relate to each other, especially in a difficult situation? One YPA felt her arthritis experiences helped a lot in her job as customer services liaison officer with one of the big banks:
"I have time to listen, I know how other people feel when faced with a system which they can't understand (eg the NHS), where everyone seems so big and important and busy that you're afraid to ask questions, because they sound so silly." (In Contact)
Have answers ready for specific problem areas too. Research beforehand possible solutions. Be ready with evidence of how you've overcome problems in the past. I, for instance, know that my hands look fairly useless. To look at them no one would believe I can write, type, grip, etc, magnificently. But I can prove that by referring to achievements such as cooking skills (winner of best fruit flan several times running!) and articles I've written and had published. I do hate being asked about my hands, but to be fair, I guess I'd ask (or certainly think) the same questions if roles were reversed. At least once the problem's aired and talked about, unfair and wrong assumptions can be dealt with. Be alert to unspoken questions. You might be better off coaxing them into the open, difficult though that may be.
Here's a checklist of some arthriticky difficulties. Pick out those relevant to you, and using information in this book, work out how best to deal with questions about them.
"A physical disability, such as a damaged hand or fingers, does not mean that a disabled person cannot be considered for a job which involves manipulating objects or which is highly skilled and calls for dexterity. Disabled people often find ways of minimising the effects of such disabilities – one engineering company employs a man to make miniature wax moulds; he is a quick worker yet he has only three fingers and one thumb. Where a disabled person does have difficulties concerning dexterity, special aids can often be supplied which will help."
"Disabled people are not necessarily more likely to lose days through sickness and absences, and indeed research has shown that many disabled people are more conscientious than other workers. For instance, in one branch of a leading chainstore which employs a number of disabled people, the average length of service of its disabled employees is ten years and their average loss of time through sickness and absence is one and a half days per year; well below the national average."
"There is nothing to show that disabled workers are any less safe than others, either in terms of safety aspects relating to particular types of work or safety matters generally, for example coping with an emergency such as a fire alert… In certain cases you [the employer] may need to ensure that specific precautions are taken so that a disabled worker can do a particular job safely or that he or she will be safe in the case of an emergency, such as a fire. Given such precautions, however, the disabled worker will be as safe as others. If you are not sure about some aspects of safety concerning a prospective disabled employee, then the Employment Medical Advisory Service… will be able to give advice."Being aware of the need to protect our joints and bodies, we may even be more careful than non-disabled people.
"Neither arthritis nor rheumatism are likely to lead to an undue increase in sickness absence and, provided sensible note is taken of the physical limitations associated with the conditions, there is no reason to fear an increased accident rate. Similarly, with appropriate attention given to the demands of the job and the use of aids where necessary, there is no reason why the worker with arthritis or rheumatism should not be as productive as any other worker." (Woodhead-Faulkner in association with RADAR)
Finally, although it's wise to prepare for the awkward questions, don't get so carried away that you forget to prepare for the old chestnuts everyone gets asked, like 'What relevant experience do you have?' 'Tell me why you think I should give this job to you?' Avoid saying you need the money, or couldn't find anything better!
Going for interview
Boost your self-confidence by preparing yourself thoroughly beforehand. Do your homework about the company, the job, and how you're going to handle questions. Make sure you can get to the interview on time and in good shape. If necessary, phone beforehand to ask about lifts, to ask whether a chair of 'dining-chair' height can be provided, etc. Allow time to pull yourself together and to show yourself at your best. Don't agree to an early appointment if travelling's awkward or if morning's not your best time. No need to give reasons; just ask politely if a later appointment would be possible.
Dress smartly, show an informed, enthusiastic interest in the job and company, give good reasons why you should have the job, and don't make salary seem your first priority. Don't dwell on the arthritis, but give honest, to the point, answers, which demonstrate how sensible and positive you are, even if you don't feel it. Try to see the interview not as an ordeal, even if it is, but as an opportunity to sell yourself and your good points.
Some employers may be too embarrassed or just plain useless at asking sensible questions about your arthritis. You may need to help things along; the important thing is to get doubts into the open and cleared up, while stressing that the most important thing about you is not the arthritis, but your excellent skills for the job. Try not to get angry at absurd assumptions about what you can or can't do, but try consciously to slow yourself down, and take things calmly. Take a deep breath, smile, and produce the 'trump card' you've prepared beforehand (eg 'you might like to see this photo of me abseiling/sailing at Kielder Adventure Centre; if I can do that…!'). A sense of humour or a smile can help things along.
A naughty employer might try to draw you into talking about problems that simply aren't relevant to your ability to do the job, eg 'How do you manage to do the shopping?' Just say something like 'No problem there', or 'I've got that well organised'. If you start going into detail about irrelevant problems you'll only reinforce the employer's picture of you as a 'Problem'. Steer the talk back to your abilities and their relevance to the job.
If an employer seems to like you, but still has some doubts because of the arthritis, be bold and suggest a trial period, or be ready with such comments as 'If you'd like more information about me perhaps you'd like to talk to my DRO, Miss X' or 'I've brought this booklet along to show you what help's available to overcome any difficulties' or 'perhaps you'd like to have a word with EMAS about how other employers/employees with my particular sort of arthritis have got on?' I had to agree to a trial contract of a year when I joined my organisation. During that time I managed to take not one day's sick leave, and was able to prove my ability to do the job. On review after that year my good record helped get me a confirmed contract with full pension rights.
YPA and secretary Janet Flower is an old-hand at interviews:
"At the interview the interviewer may/may not put you at ease. Some do not appear at all friendly but try not to let this worry you. Probably after everything else has been gone into, then will come the questions about RA. Remember the interviewer probably has no idea what it is, or what to ask, so don't let it put you off, if their questions seem stupid. It is easy to say too much, going into your whole medical background, which they don't need to know. Just relate everything to the job you're applying for. For instance, if the person asks how it affects you and what things you can't do, don't feel you have to mention that you can't get in the bath, or do your shoes up. Merely mention that, say, you can't lift heavy things, or stand for too long, or whatever. In other words, be honest about your abilities concerning the job, but leave out what doesn't matter.
"If you are asked about time off for hospital visits, be truthful about it. Even if you'll need a lot of time off, if they are impressed with you in every other respect, this may be acceptable to them. Perhaps a compromise of less holiday entitlement can be agreed in lieu of time off for hospital visits. If they do seem unhappy about the time off you'll need, perhaps mentioning this may allay their fears and you will be showing that you are willing to be helpful and are not going to take liberties. Mention your good attendance at school/work. This is simply adopting an attitude that emphasises what talents, abilities, qualities you personally have for the job, while playing down what you can't do. After all, the things you can't manage probably aren't important in the job you are after. Things that are a problem will probably be slight or easily overcome. If you try to overcome the nerves, and give a positive impression, then even if there are going to be problems, the firm will probably be willing to accept them." (In Contact)
Even embarrassing happenings at the interview needn't mean disaster:
"One interview room had low chairs. To have said I'd sit elsewhere might have been okay, but it would have meant me feeling awkward from the start. So, I sat down, and went through the interview, giving as good an impression as possible, while trying not to worry about how I was going to get up! I got the job, and I'm sure it's because, having proved I had the necessary qualities for the job, the fact that I had to be helped up was irrelevant. If you can make RA seem unimportant compared with your other qualities/abilities, your chances of success are much greater, no matter how bad your disability."
Successful – or not'!
No? – Put it down to experience and try not to get too disheartened. Tell yourself the loss is theirs. Plenty of other people get rejected too, arthritis or no arthritis. If it's a job or a company you're really keen on, no harm in writing to them saying you'd still be interested in being considered for future openings. Keep beavering away at the job applications and make full use of any support services available, eg jobclubs. The struggle will eventually prove worthwhile.
Time and information are crucial. Don't be panicked into making hasty decisions. You'll need time to see how the arthritis develops, time for treatment to show its effect, time to think what to do for the best, and information to help you make the right decisions. It takes time to adapt to any new situation, especially something like RA, AS or lupus. To reassure you and your employer, listen to Kettle and Massie:
"There are many effective medicines to diminish pain and stiffness and several long-acting drugs which, after a few months, have more than an even chance of bringing the condition under control. In severe cases surgery or physiotherapy can help although it should be emphasised that often arthritis or rheumatism need cause little or no interference with work." (In Employers Guide to Disabilities)
You and your employer may be able to make adjustments that can keep you in your present job, or perhaps in another job in the same firm. Keeping a job is probably in your interests financially, socially and psychologically, and in your employer's interests too.
So, with your GP's and rheumatologist's support, try to get your job kept open as long as possible. Even if the employer stops paying you, see if you can be 'kept on the books' until you can return to work or until there's a suitable vacancy.
Find out who to contact, at work and outside work, to help with particular difficulties (eg look back at page 257 onwards). Consult your personnel/welfare officer/union for help and advice. Make sure your employer knows about the Code of Good Practice – there's a section on 'Assisting employees who become disabled' (eg who to consult for advice, changes that could be made, legal obligations). Look too at the publications mentioned elsewhere in this chapter, and at the Disability Rights Handbook (page 127).
Be wary of anyone making wrong assumptions too early on about what you can or can't do. Arthritis and rheumatic disorders are notoriously misunderstood, even by professionals. Do everything you can to ensure that what happens to you is based on professional advice given by a professional with reliable, up-to-date, and specialist knowledge of your particular type of arthritis, preferably a rheumatologist. You might find it useful to know that Professor Anne Chamberlain, holder of the Charterhouse Clinic Chair of Rheumatological Rehabilitation at Leeds University, specialises in the socio-economic effects of arthritis, including employment implications.
Keeping a job you're already in
You might be able to continue in the same job
Or maybe you could return to alternative work in the same company? Retraining might be necessary. If your employer can't arrange it, your DRO should be able to help.
You and your employer may need to consider the implications for pay and conditions if your hours of work are changed. The Code of Good Practice advises the employer: "Any changes to terms and conditions of employment which become necessary should be based, as far as possible, on agreement between your company and the employee. If you have any queries about terms and conditions of employment, then the Advisory Conciliation and Arbitration Service (A CAS) may be able to help."
Make sure you know your firm's sick leave regulations, and keep your own record of time off in case of any disagreement. Sometimes it's worth using a day or so's annual leave for a short rest if the arthritis is playing up, rather than taking frequent periods of sick leave. And as YPA Anne Ryman wisely advises:
"Employers and work mates will be helpful if you don't use your disability as an excuse. Try to do as much as you can for yourself without asking for help. Always be punctual and reliable."
If you lose your job
Try not to, if at all possible: the longer you can keep it open the better the chances of improvements in medical treatment and in you. However, if you are, sadly, faced with the prospect, contact the DRO at once, your union (if you're a member), and your doctor. Talk too to Arthritis Care/Young Arthritis Care or other relevant patient support group.
A disabled person, like all employees, is covered by employment protection legislation. You can get legal advice from a Citizens Advice Bureau and/or local law centre or Network (page 122). Jobcentres have leaflets on employment protection legislation. Free advice is available too from ACAS or a trade union. There's a helpful chapter in the Disability Rights Handbook (see for instance the section on 'Sickness and Unfair Dismissal'). Note particularly that any claim for unfair dismissal must reach a central office of the Industrial Tribunals within three months of the effective date of termination of your employment (leaflet IT1 from jobcentres tells you more). It's worth knowing that if you're registered disabled (a Green Card holder):
"Your employer would have to prove that special consideration had been given to your case, and that the needs of business made your sacking absolutely necessary. If your employer failed to do this then a tribunal would probably say that your dismissal was unfair." (Disability Rights Handbook, 16th edition).
Finally, remember again what I said earlier. Rheumatic disorders are notoriously misunderstood, even by professionals and people you'd expect to know better, so do your best to insist that any decisions about you are based on advice given by a professional with reliable, up-to-date and specialist knowledge of your particular type of rheumatic disorder, preferably a rheumatologist.
Although discrimination against employees on grounds of race and sex is outlawed, discrimination against people because of disability is, alas, not illegal. However that needn't stop you seeking advice from the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) or RADAR, and ACAS or your trade union can advise on employment law.
All people with disabilities have the same employment rights as fit employees, and since the Wages Act 1986, the law no longer allows a disabled person to be employed on less favourable terms than someone who is not disabled.
Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, which covers all employees, an employer can refuse work to a disabled person on health and safety grounds only if that person's overall condition means s/he can't perform the job effectively and/or safely.
Under Section 7 of the Act an employee has certain obligations which mean s/he should disclose to the employer any medical condition likely to affect safety at work. If it isn't disclosed and the disability caused an accident or injury you might be held responsible, which could mean dismissal.
A horribly complicated area, dealt with in more detail on page 133. Do get advice, and cross-check it from different sources. Try CAB, social worker, rights officer, DSS BEL freephone (page 127), DRO, jobcentre Claimant Adviser. Though the Disability Rights Handbook takes some ploughing through, it does give you a good start in unravelling the complexities of benefits and employment/unemployment.
Even if you don't consider yourself disabled these are well worth looking at:
Look at non-disabled publications, especially Just the Job (page 258) and anything aimed at other people with special needs, eg working mothers, women returning to work after time off, unemployed people, information from the organisation New Ways to Work, and: