ARTiculate Special - Employment Advice if you have a Disability

In this episode, we’ve been taken over by our brilliant young ARTiculate group—a creative collective of young people with additional needs who use the arts to express their views and experiences.

This time, we’re talking all about employability. We share stories about our jobs, discuss some of the challenges we’ve faced in the workplace, and we’re delighted to welcome Stuart Downie—an expert in employment for people with additional needs, to answer some of our questions. So tune in, listen and learn!

Project Managers: Andrea Rai & Phil Powell.

Editor: Phil Powell

Huge thanks to the National Lottery Reaching Communities Fund for supporting our Dis-labled podcast. Learn more about their amazing work: https://www.tnlcommunityfund.org.uk

All enquiries: podcast@communityfocus.co.uk
Website: https://www.communityfocus.co.uk/

Theme Music: Rastko Rasic & the students of Community FocusOther Music: Jazzy Frenchy by ⁠⁠⁠Benjamin Tissot

Transcript

SPEAKER_08 0:07

Community focused. Community focused. We're here for you. With me and you.

SPEAKER_00 0:16

I've got out.

SPEAKER_07 0:18

I want to use. At five o'clock, your dungeon. The podcast for a weekend with you.

SPEAKER_03 0:30

We're here for you. Yay! Hooray! Hooray!

Gila 0:47

Community focused is an art statue for children and adults with disabilities. We are based in Faber Burnage North London and offer a selection of creative and well-being activities for all ages.

SPEAKER_10 1:04

In the room we have Jasmine, Luby, Ruby, Sophia, Carol, and Joan.

SPEAKER_12 1:30

In this episode, we are talking about employability. We talk about our jobs, we talk about issues we've had when we are working, and we are pleased to invite Stuart to talk to us today, an expert about employment for people with additional needs. Listen, learn and have fun. Have you had a job before?

SPEAKER_09 1:55

Yes, I have. Well, two things. Um uh during my time uh as a student, uh I worked at my old um theatre school as a drama teaching assistant working with younger students at the age between five to nine year olds to help them prepare for their lambda exams. And the other one was community focused as a freelance uh teaching assistant.

SPEAKER_06 2:28

My job is I helped the preschoolers do gymnastics. It's really fun and I really enjoyed it.

SPEAKER_02 2:39

I work at Council Research every Friday doing the CDs and the books, doing the price tags and the CDs and welcoming and welcoming any people in the stores as well.

SPEAKER_01 2:55

I work at Yodoin Warehouse in Wolfham Cross. It's a delivery company. I sort out the parcels and put them in the right tour destinations with the delivery numbers and the address passcode, barcode passcode.

SPEAKER_12 3:14

Uh at the moment I don't have a job, but I am waiting for a placement that's gonna start at the end of this month um in a charity organization which makes ceramics. Um but I've had a job before. I've had been a pool handler, I think. Um where I basically had to call people. This was during COVID times, I had to call them if they had been in contact with someone with with COVID and I had to tell them to self-isolate and inform others of self-isolating.

Carol 3:47

So in previous times I did work experience um last year as part of my course at college, and I worked in an office um like uh administrat ad administrating um like files and enrolling different students and I also have what like helped out with my church volunteering and tomorrow I'm going to be doing um helping out in holiday club as part of part of my church and helping out around setting up the different areas and yeah.

SPEAKER_02 4:34

What did you enjoy most about working Yasmin?

SPEAKER_09 4:40

There are things I do enjoy like whenever it comes to special occasion, like sending out some gifts for Valentine's Day and especially for graduation and problem. As my role as an artist, I just like to um create flyers and make some nice gifts for the students who are gonna be moving on to college soon.

SPEAKER_01 5:13

What I enjoy most about working is sorting out the parcels, s looking after the delivery company, sorting them out with the right delivery address, postcode and working well as a team, helping each other out and have good motivation skills, good communication skills, good listening skills and good motivation skills and and helping looking after the warehouse properly and doing it properly.

Carol 5:49

Working all together as a team and like the communication is like quite strong and um just being helpful in general.

SPEAKER_12 6:02

Yeah. Um I've not started my placement yet, but currently I am at Community Focus in the group called Articulate, and we we are a group of people who have disabilities and we work to make a lot of different art projects and items that we sell on our online shop, um, and we're still selling them at the moment. Um lots of different projects like puzzles, um, paintings, uh games and other things. Link in the description.

SPEAKER_02 6:33

I like what I'm working with, learning new skills, learning how to deal with people, and learning how to how to um communicate with people too and talk to them with with my with my customers and colleagues at my shop.

SPEAKER_06 6:52

Um I like working with preschoolers and do the warm-up with the animals and maybe like with the jump and then do a landing shape and they want to that um the as an animal like a two-hour like the work on the tiptoe across to the to the place and and then it's a and then go back and forth back of what it's amazing.

SPEAKER_01 7:22

Have you faced any challenges at work?

SPEAKER_09 7:26

As a matter of fact I do. Whenever I'm trying to deal with students just to try and get them to concentrate on their work and they're I just feel like um losing my core and I'm trying not to, and that times I feel like I I can't pushy sometimes and I I hate being reminded by my colleagues that that like telling me how to do my job properly and it just makes me angry and I'm just trying to think about which someone which someone would give me a proper advice on rather than rather than people lecturing me.

SPEAKER_01 8:11

I broke a big heavy box uh of wine at Yodo in the warehouse in Warham Cross. It made me feel um it made me feel very uh annoyed and upset. Yeah, the manager helped me with that to clear it up the mess and he asked me to put something on it a paper, a cardboard box on it, so don't so I don't slip over it.

Carol 8:39

Probably trying to understand a task they give me, um that would probably be a challenge for me. Sometimes I need more processing time, but it also depends on the task that they give me.

SPEAKER_12 8:57

So with my first job, um I really struggled to understand the instructions to begin with, uh, and it was really difficult because I was on the phone with someone and I was trying to make my computer work and so trying to ask them to like be patient with me. So I found that a bit hard, but once I got used to it, it was okay. Um but with the work I'm doing at the moment with community focus, we do art. I do a lot of art, and um I love doing art, but um I'm right-handed, so um I've always done art with my right hand, but I've got a deformity in my arm which causes us a lot of pain. So a lot of the time I have to have breaks or I can't do certain things. Um, and I've actually started learning to draw um with my left hand. I can already run it with my left hand, but now I'm currently just doing a lot with my left hand recently, and it might not be as good as my right hand, but I am getting there, um, and it helps a lot because that means I don't have to worry if my arm's hurting. Um, so I just yeah, use my left arm if I can. What could have the stuff at your workplacement done that made it easier for you, Yasmin? Well, um when one of my former teachers who happen to be my colleague used to work in the school, he he's good at giving me proper advice and when they lecture you, do the does it feel like they're telling you off?

SPEAKER_09 10:20

Yes, and I I just feel embarrassed and angry wondering did did duck did I ever do something wrong? What what could I have done better to help out the students and how to do m do my job well?

SPEAKER_01 10:36

The company could have explained to me how to handle this properly and do it so and I m I need to be much more careful with it when when things are broken, or ask someone to ask for help if it's heavy, too heavy for me, or ask for help and advice and support.

SPEAKER_06 10:56

Well the question is.

SPEAKER_12 11:08

Um would you feel comfortable asking for help?

SPEAKER_06 11:11

Yes.

Carol 11:18

There are moments where I feel like um I want to ask for help, but I can't. And I don't want to bother that person, but there are times where I can ask for help. If I'm like in a new volun if I'm volunteering in a new workplace and I don't know mys I don't know anyone there, I can get a bit like a bit worried of judgment. I don't know how if I ask for help, but if I'm like in a like in a surroundings where I have worked with that person before, I can like ask for help. So it really depends who I'm around. Some people here have learning difficulties and we need our own pace to understand instructions.

SPEAKER_12 12:15

Thinking back to when I was in school, I used to get extra time, which was very helpful because I had to take lots of rest breaks. Um when my arm hurt, I had to stop. Um, so getting the extra time to have that break was helpful.

SPEAKER_04 12:35

So uh yeah, my name's Stuart Downey, and I I was a disability employment advisor in the London Borough Barnet for 20 years, and I was based at Edgeware and the Hendon Job Centre. Uh, and I used to work with different organisations who supported anybody with a disability, learning disability, mental health, any any sort of disability to get into work and and to help them stay in work, so to give them the right support. Um, so and I retired three years ago.

SPEAKER_12 13:06

What kind of what organizations did you work for?

SPEAKER_04 13:10

So, so when I work for the uh job centre, I work with organisers like MenCAP, who've got employment programs. There's an organization called Exceptional Individuals who work with people with neurodiverse conditions, and they're very good based in the city, and then they have different providers like Maximus and Ingius who do general support. So also mental health organizations like Mind, uh Jamie, um, they also have employment programs. So spoke to all of them and then try and work with the person looking for work so they would get the right support so they'd be successful when they got into work, so they could stay in work.

Carol 13:53

In the organizations, um, do people need to require qualifications to apply for a job?

SPEAKER_04 14:02

Depends what the job is. Some organizations you do need uh qualifications. Um were there any specific jobs you were thinking of?

Carol 14:12

Um something in like the creative fields, like uh um performing arts, um photography, art in general.

SPEAKER_04 14:24

So so a lot of the time with those organizations you might be able to get in as a volunteer or do a work trial, and you wouldn't necessarily need a qualification. It'd be about what experience you have and if they could look at your work, if you've got a portfolio of work and and know what experience. Um it's about the drive you've got and the wanting to succeed, and the right people along the way.

SPEAKER_12 14:50

We talked previously about problems we've had in the workplace. What things can employers do to help us out?

SPEAKER_04 14:57

So you could uh contact access to work if you have specific difficulties, you could ask for someone to support you in talking to the employer to say these are the difficulties I I have. Um so you might need the work's too fast, so you need longer to train on a new uh task to do, or you might have too many people, and that makes you feel anxious. So maybe you need more breaks. Um I had one gentleman he had uh mental health difficulties, his medication made him very tired in the morning. So we asked his employer rather than him start at nine o'clock, could he start at 10 o'clock? So he then didn't have to travel during the busy times, and he felt much better, his medicine had kicked in. Um they could give you someone at work you could speak to if you've built up a relationship with a colleague just to go through something if you're getting anxious about it. There's also um through Access to Work, they've got uh a program called Able Futures, uh, and they can provide a buddy for you who you could ring up and they'd ring you every week basically just to go through how your job was going and if you had any difficulties. So, yeah, access to work can do get get you taxis to work if you can't go on public transport. They can get you specialist equipment, so if you need specialist software, um, they can get make changes within the work environment. So it's a very useful um organization to go to if you need support. How did you find access to work? So you can go into Google and just put access to work and it's on the Gov UK website, and then it will tell you if you're eligible, you don't have to have a doctor's report, you can just say this is my disability, and then how it affects you in work and what help you feel you need. And you do all of that online, so it's quite straightforward. Um, and if you needed help, I could help you, or maybe someone else you know, but it it is quite straightforward now. If if you need help in Barnet, the best place to go is Boost. Have you heard of Boost? So Booster are based at Burnt Oak Library, and they have very good people in there, they've got broad knowledge of welfare benefits, can help you make claims. Also, Inclusion Barnet can help you as well. And all these names I will put in a in a link so you can contact Inclusion Barnet will help you make applications for PIP, appeals, all sorts of things related to benefits as well. Access to work is nationwide, so anybody can get in in Britain. Um Mencap, Mind, a lot of these organizations are national organizations. Um so if yeah, look at your local uh council, they've often got a list of different organizations or or talk to a disability-specific organisation who should know about other organisations in your area.

SPEAKER_09 18:12

Do you think it's important to share your disability with your employer?

SPEAKER_04 18:18

Yes, I I think it is because if you have some difficulties at work and they don't understand it's because you have a disability, then they may not give you the right support and and react in a negative way. So if they know you have a disability, you've disclosed it beforehand, then you can inform the employer. Sometimes I might find this difficult, and I need this sort of support to enable me to do that part of the job. So I would say for mental health, learning, any specific tasks you find difficult, it's better the employer knows once you start that you don't have to disclose it when you're being interviewed, but certainly before you start the job, tell them this is what my disability is and this is how it might affect me, and this is how I overcome it. Because once the employer knows and is confident you can do the job, then that that's fine. But he he doesn't know, also you could become anxious about not telling people. And I've met people who their anxiety level goes up because they don't want to tell anybody and then they can't do the job properly. So I I would recommend you should do. But make sure you're comfortable practice talking to someone about it. So if you speak to an employer, you know what you're gonna say and how you're gonna say it.

SPEAKER_12 19:36

Um, what happens if you disclose your disability to your employer, but they're not very helpful with it?

SPEAKER_04 19:43

So you could go to a disability employment advisor, they could then take notes about what the problem is or what the difficulties are. Um we work with work psychiatrists who or work psychologists, sorry, and what they do is analyze difficulties and can get involved with the disability employment advisor to talk to both parties. So they talk to you, the employer has to agree, but the employer's willing to talk, then we would talk to the employer, say, Well, these are the difficulties that person is having. We can give you support in overcoming those difficulties. If if the employer is not being helpful at all, you could go to a union if you have a union, maybe get them involved, or any uh people within the company who might be able to help you uh talk to your employer, or even a support organisation. So you had help from Mind or MenCat, go to them and they could possibly get someone to come in. Even access to work could probably provide someone to come in to you. But don't don't let it build up. You know, if you're having problems straight away, then do contact someone, speak to someone about it, even if it's just a family member or a friend, and then work out the best thing if you really like the job how you want to keep it. So, by law, if a company knows you have a disability, they should do what's called reasonable adjustments. And reasonable adjustments are making changes in the workplace to enable you to do the job like anybody else. So, say you do a certain type of job, they might need to give you more time, like I said, maybe more training, maybe communicate in a different way, say you were deaf or blind, and they would have to find different ways to communicate with you. So it's it's all about making enabling you to do the job like everybody else.

Carol 21:40

How do you like face anxieties when you're new when you're in a like a new surrounding of a of a if you're volunteering or you have a job in a new workplace?

SPEAKER_04 21:52

How do you deal with your anxieties when you have a new job?

unknown 21:56

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 21:56

Yep, yep. So often I've noticed a Lot of people they they first of all they'd practice the journey where they're going because journeys can be pretty anxious, aren't they? You know, if you're travelling in traffic and and and public transport. So practice that, you know, do it a few times before you start the job. If you can have an informal um word with the employer beforehand, you know, just to make yourself comfortable in the work environment. So go there before you actually start work, know your tasks. Sometimes people use mindfulness, breathing techniques, so they they have these um ways of calming themselves down. So be aware of what works for you and then practice that before you start. So one of your students who who works for Jodel had has anxiety going to work, so access to work, pay for a taxi for him to get to work and get back. Also, in work, when he had to learn the job, he had a job coach. Um, I'm not sure who provided that, so it could have been an organization or could have been access to work, who helped him learn the job for a few weeks. So every day they spent two to three hours learning the job alongside him, but also talking to his colleagues and his manager how best to work with him. So they knew how to work with him. So I I had another customer, he works for a company, a big supermarket, he worked in their cooking. So the the job coach taught all his colleagues, the other co the people who worked how to work best with him, how to talk to him, engage with him, and and he's been there eight years and doing very well as far as I know. So as long as people know in advance and uh you know they've got good people giving them the right information.

Carol 23:49

At the moment I don't feel like doing work because um I have a sense of my anxiety telling me that um it's it's like a fear of judgment and um it's like I'm doubting myself if I can like do the work because I do want to find a volunteering job like working in a charity, but it's just my anxiety, so yeah.

SPEAKER_04 24:19

So if if you're f feeling anxious, then I suppose the first thing is try and work out things that make you feel less anxious. Also, if you're gonna do voluntary, start off with only maybe one or two hours just to build up gradually so you feel less and then do you feel anxious in certain circumstances? Is it like the travel or when you meet new people? What makes you anxious?

Carol 24:46

Probably like a new environment and the people that I'm around that I don't know that well.

SPEAKER_04 24:54

So so that would be good if before you start work, again go there, get the manager to introduce you to people, just stay there, don't do the job, just stay there, get to feel a bit more comfortable in that environment, and then just do it slowly. Because I I've worked with a lot of charity shops, and um usually the managers are very, very supportive, and people could start off really slowly and then work for a supermarket or something, so it was a good way to get uh a good reference for your CV. I mean, going forward, if you start off voluntary, you can get a reference which would be helpful when you apply for a paid job, and some voluntary jobs then lead to a paid job.

SPEAKER_02 25:38

Why do we need CVs and to keep them up to date?

SPEAKER_04 25:43

So CVs are very helpful to the employer. If he has a hundred people apply for a job, he wants to, he's he's got certain criteria or or abilities that person has to have. So a CV will give him an idea that that person has the right abilities. So you want the latest things you've done for say the last five years, any qualifications that are relevant to that job. Also, in the profile bit, sort of say what type of person, what skills you have that tick the boxes for that job. So the CV is important for the employer, uh, and also to remind yourself of what skills you have and um you know keep up to date with it. So if you're changing jobs, you you don't have to you know what's there. But a lot of most jobs are got through who you know. So the best way to get a job is talk to your friend who might be working there, or a family friend, or anybody. So that's the best way and the most popular way really of getting jobs, unless it's like one of the top become a chief exec. You never underestimate what people can do, and with the right support and confidence, they could all do very well.

SPEAKER_12 26:58

Thank you, Stuart. Thank you, Stuart.

SPEAKER_04 27:03

Thank you for having me. Have you enjoyed it? Yeah, yeah, I have. It was easy.

SPEAKER_09 27:15

What have we all learned from today?

SPEAKER_02 27:17

We will end up about people getting jobs.

SPEAKER_06 27:20

Um it's amazing. Well, don't keep it up.

Carol 27:25

Um we've learnt about some jobs don't require qualifications, they just require experience.

SPEAKER_12 27:35

I learnt about all the different support organizations that there are for people with additional needs and mental health issues.

SPEAKER_01 27:42

I enjoyed doing the podcast and working as a team.

SPEAKER_09 27:48

It's a good body to all of you.

Carol 28:00

Goodbye to everybody. See you later, alligator in the one-hour crocodile. See you later.

SPEAKER_02 28:08

See you later, alligator.

Carol 28:10

Subscribe.

SPEAKER_02 28:12

Bye.

SPEAKER_08 28:22

Community focused, community focus. We're here for you with me and you.

SPEAKER_03 28:46

We're here for you.