What Is A Disability Carer?

A disability support worker is a carer for disabled people, who provides care and support to someone who has some sort of disability. Carers can work with physically and mentally disabled people. Disability support workers provide support to a disabled person within their home and provide assistance with several aspects of their lives, including but not limited to:

• Employment
• Recreational support
• Education
• Training
• Movement
• Everyday household tasks

Disability Carer’s Characteristics

Not everyone can become a disability carer and a support worker must have certain personality requirements to be well suited for their role as a disability support worker. Some of the commonly expected characteristics are:

• The knowledge that disabled people have the same rights as everyone else
• Knowing that disabled people deserve to be treated with the same respect as everyone else
• Must have a genuinely caring nature
• Must be prepared for hard, sometimes mentally exhausting work
• Must be strongly focussed on human rights
• Must be committed to social justice

Disability Caring Workers: Employment Opportunities

Disability support workers usually aid a disabled person with their daily living needs. Some people continue to be disability carers all their lives, while others do consider other opporunities within the field. After starting out as a disability worker, support workers have a variety of other employment opportunities available to them such as:

• Working at a home for disabled people
• Community workers
• Child care assistant
• Working in government organizations dealing with disabled people and their rights
• Recreation therapist
• Disability counselors
• Welfare worker

Not everyone is cut out to be a disability support worker, but if you think you can handle the pressure and would like a job in which you make a difference to someone’s life on a daily basis, then this might be the career of choice for you.

Training for Disabled Employees

All disabled people by law have the same access rights to a company’s training programs as do any other individual. It is down to your employer to make sure that you are not stopped from taking part in these training courses just because of your disability. As such the employer should take certain considerations into account when organising training events. They should be sure that:

• They provide adequate training for any special equipment that is to be used in the workplace.
• If the disabled person is limited to the number of hours they can attend a training course then training should be given over an extended course.
• Re-train employees that have become disabled since taking the job to enable them to remain in their current position.
• Have sign language interpreters available if needed and provide material in different formats.
• Be aware of problems with locations of the training course, for example does it have wheelchair accessibility.

The disability act in the workplace must be taken seriously by your employer and the employer has to make sure that they:

• Make sure that any other staff fully understand the policy towards disabled people and their rights in the workplace.
• Carry out any obligations in the training to make adjustments for disabled employees.
• Set standards within the organisation or workplace by giving examples of good practise.
• Provide accessibility to services for disabled people.
• Make sure all staff who come into contact with the public have disability equality training.

Workplace Disability While Employed

If you are currently working and become disabled for any reason then you have certain rights and your employer will probably keep you in your position but your employer also has to consider the responsibility of the employment arrangements or any features of the workplace that might now put you at a disadvantage because of your disability.

If there are problems then it is your employer’s duty to make reasonable adjustments to the working environment. The disability discrimination act states that it would be within reason for your employer to spend at least as much money on making changes to the working environment as it would cost them to recruit and train a replacement.

Making Workplace Disability Adjustments

Simple and often effective adjustments could include:

• Offering a staggered return to work policy.
• Allocating some of the duties you would find hard to other employees.
• Providing practical aids and tools to help you.
• Moving workstations if you need more room say for wheelchair access.

There is absolutely nothing to be ashamed about about being a disabled employee in the workplace. If your employer makes no provisions for your disability, it is important than you have a chat with them about the possibilities and if they are unwilling to make any adjustment for your disability in the workplace, then you can always seek legal action as well.

There are very good reasons for telling the employer about your disabilities because you have certain rights in the workplace due to your disabilities. The disability discrimination act is there to protect a disabled person, which means it is against the law for an employer to discriminate against you in recruiting and choosing an applicant for the job.

Under this act the employer has to consider making reasonable adjustments to the workplace to accommodate the disabled person if need be.

If you choose not to tell the potential employer about your disability then a tribunal could decide that the employer was right in failing to make adjustments if you encounter problems, because your employer didn’t know of your needs beforehand.

When to declare your disability

Bear in mind these points when deciding whether or not to tell a potential employer about your disability.

* If you are asked outright in an interview about your health or any disabilitie’s then you must answer honestly.

* If you fill in any forms and sign a declaration that you do not have a disability then you could face legal problems later.

* Some application forms ask outright questions concerning disability you must answer all the information honestly and give details of the important points regarding your disability.

* Explain how your disability might affect the work you are applying for.

* Focus on your good points and why you are best suited for the job.

* If you feel your disability could help you and have a positive affect in the particular job then state why.

Going for the interview

If you are asked to attend an interview for the job then makes sure the person holding the interview knows of any help you might need such as an interpreter or help needed with access to the building. For instance if the interview is to be held on the top floor is there suitable access for a wheelchair?

The employer will respect you more if you are up front and honest with them in the first place and although it is not a legal requirement for you to disclose your disability beforehand it is much easier if the potential employer or interviewer is prepared.

The interview time should be spent on why you’re the right person for the job not having to answer questions about your disability when you could have answered these questions beforehand so being upfront is always a good idea.

Many employers now have excellent equal opportunities policies regarding the disabled so you may feel more at ease during an interview if this has been discussed beforehand.

What you can do if you think you were treated unfairly

If you think you were unfairly treated during the interview because of your disability then you can make a complaint to an employment tribunal, the tribunal will then:

* Look into the case and decide if they think the employer treated you unjustly and against the law.

* Give recommendations to the employer, for example ask the employer to rethink and employ you or change its policy.

* Ask that the employer pay you compensation.