Comments on: Ticked Off: Special Focus – Looking for work

By: tracy

tracy — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 10:08:25 +0000

I have read this article and as Government Departments are subject to the Equality Act 2010 just as everyone else is, I would suggest obtaining help and support from the Equality and Human Rights Commission who, I am sure, would be very interested in the difficulties you are experiencing with your Job Centre.

How can you be expected to comply with their requirements if you are unable to access the materials with which they are communicating them to you?

By: Stefan Slucki

Stefan Slucki — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 23:28:28 +0000

Hi everyone,
I went to school with Norman and remember him as a conscientious guy. It is appalling that such ignorance and such often needless obstacles still confront us as vision-impaired people wanting to make a positive contribution in the world.
Some of us do have a poor attitude to work but those who are go-ahead type people still face so much systemic prejudice.
In Australia we’re about to embark on a National Disability Insurance Scheme whose advocates seem to think it’ll solve all our problems. However, I think it could lead to the kind of “level playingfield which Norman describes with it being not guaranteed entitlements for all but whom you happen to know and where you happen to be determining the services you end up getting.

By: Mickey Fellowes

Mickey Fellowes — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 18:26:05 +0000

It is depressing although there is little we can do about it but just keep pushing on. I suspect the UK is increasingly less meritocratic and if you are the wrong colour, race, social class or disabled or deaf there will be limited opportunities for you.

anyway you guys just keep pushing on it. Isn’t it monstrous that you were offered incapacity benefit with two Phd’s at the age of 33? A friend when she left college with her BA was also offered IB. How can she be incapable when she is only 22? Being Deaf doesn’t make her incapable.

By: Ifeolu Akintunde

Ifeolu Akintunde — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 09:34:32 +0000

I got my Ph.D in international relations in 2001 and started looking for work with enthusiasm. However, after sevral years, the process became depressingly monotonous. My sighted friends wondered what I was doing wrong, especially as they were all employed. After a while, I decided to set up a consultancy, but if people can’t trust you in employment, will they want to give you work? I too haven’t given up. It’s a shame to do all that studying, achieve the same as your classmates, yet have it go to waste.