I just applied to Farmfoods for part time work

[Mr Allen]

It came up as a recommended job on Totaljobs.com today, so I applied because it's easy to get to it's only at Owlerton in Hillsborough.

I did declare that I have AS and other disabilities, whether that will cost me the job I don't know, but legally in the UK if you have a disability you HAVE to declare it, even though IMO the equality laws in this Country are a joke.

 

[OlLiE]

good luck
the having to mention it thing may not be so bad, if you've declared it and they still invited you, then that could be an indication that they are open to it, if they don't hire you the burden on them is to prove that its not because of your disabilities,

i have my first career counselling session tomorrow, hope they will give me a better of idea professionally of what i am good at and what areas i should consider

 

[tree]

I was surprised to see that Farmfoods found it
necessary to include a statement regarding
slavery and human trafficking on their home page.
Farmfoods

 

[Southern Discomfort]

I don't know where you heard that but if you have a disability you do not need to declare it. Asperger's for example is entirely up to you if you want to disclose it. You are under no obligation to declare you have a disability.

 

[Judge]

I don't know where you heard that but if you have a disability you do not need to declare it. Asperger's for example is entirely up to you if you want to disclose it. You are under no obligation to declare you have a disability.

Agreed, assuming this article on this very issue is completely accurate.

"I have a disability. When do I tell a prospective employer?"

I have a disability. When do I tell a prospective employer?


Also, it appears that there is an important caveat regarding where prospective employers have the upper hand in turning you down for a job based on said disability:

"In some limited circumstances, indirect discrimination may be justified if it is necessary for the business to work. For example, an employer may reject an applicant with a severe back problem where heavy manual lifting is an essential part of the job."

Disability Discrimination and the workplace | guidance and resources | Acas

I get the impression that while it's not a legal requirement, in Rich's case it's probably just more advantageous for him to declare such disabilities up front given the legal possibilities that may favor a prospective employer. However yes- of course it's going to curtail the likelihood of being hired as well. - "Catch-22"


On a side note, I find it a bit interesting to see that Britain's Equality Act of 2010 appears to protect people in a particular way beyond that of American citizens relative to our Civil Rights Act of 1964. That it covers both public and private institutions such as clubs and associations. Not so in the US.

Discrimination: your rights: Types of discrimination ('protected characteristics') - GOV.UK

 

[xudo]

I don't know where you heard that but if you have a disability you do not need to declare it. Asperger's for example is entirely up to you if you want to disclose it. You are under no obligation to declare you have a disability.

Indeed. The only thing you legally have to disclose is criminal convictions which aren't 'spent'. Although some people don't tell employers about that either.

 

[VenomousAlbino]

I applied for a job at Sainsbury's in November 2002. During the interview I explained that I had a disability - I am partially sighted; my autism wasn't diagnosed for another 13 years - and that there would be certain things that I would be unable to do. 45 minutes after the interview I got a phone call offering me the job and I'm still there now. They've been very accommodating in regards to my being partially sighted, my depression and most recently my autism diagnosis.

And in my nearly 15 years there, we've had a ton of disabled people there ranging from a deaf man, a boy with a mild case of cerebral palsy and a woman with no tongue. There's also a guy who works with me on checkouts whose autism is far worse than mine.

The disability and equality laws are anything but a joke. In fact, if anything, they're skewed far more in favour of employees with disabilities than with companies who employ them.

 

[ladybug]

This is great to know.... my son has just got a job.... quite sales-ey.... as for an Aspie he is chatty and outgoing.... I asked him if he was going to mention at his interview.... he said no as he didn't think it relevant.... I said it was up to him and I would support him in his decision.....
fingers crossed it all seems to be going well (two weeks in...!)

 

[Darius]

Rick, you said you're unable to lift heavy weights. So why do you apply for a position that says it's physically demanding?

It looks like that you're trying to apply for jobs just because they're there when they aren't really suitable for you. Often the "recommended jobs" aren't really good ones for you or anybody else. It's just computer and you need look critically at them and just discard those unfit for you.

I was long-term unemployed and trying to get any work didn't help me with getting a job. I took some steps back and worked (with several professionals) to get me on the track. It took me weeks (more like months). I considered my strengths, weaknesses and how can I find proper job. And I got one quickly.

I worked few times as a sales assistant (outside in the shop) and that's a heavy and demanding job. Very stressful sometimes. Can you really take it? Do you know the price for taking such a job?

 

[VenomousAlbino]

Rick, you said you're unable to lift heavy weights. So why do you apply for a position that says it's physically demanding?

It looks like that you're trying to apply for jobs just because they're there when they aren't really suitable for you. Often the "recommended jobs" aren't really good ones for you or anybody else. It's just computer and you need look critically at them and just discard those unfit for you.

I was long-term unemployed and trying to get any work didn't help me with getting a job. I took some steps back and worked (with several professionals) to get me on the track. It took me weeks (more like months). I considered my strengths, weaknesses and how can I find proper job. And I got one quickly.

I worked few times as a sales assistant (outside in the shop) and that's a heavy and demanding job. Very stressful sometimes. Can you really take it? Do you know the price for taking such a job?

This is absolutely something that should be considered, @Rich Allen. And I'm not saying that to dissuade you from looking for work, but rather out of personal experience.

In my job, I've been on checkouts since January 2015, but prior to that I worked on the shop floor and loading bays. Personally, I had no issues with the physical side of theae jobs - in fact, during that time I was the fittest I've ever been - but the stress that can come about from that job should not be underestimated.

There will be times when you'll have a workload that is/seems to be insurmountable. There will be times when said workload or how stressful your day is will be at the mercy of, say, the night shift and you'll be unable to do anything about it. You may come to blows about how things should be organised or you may be having a c**t of a day and you'll get customers who have complaints and you're the only person there to complain to and there are people out there who will not be at all nice when they complain; they will be angry - warranted or not - and they will let you have it.

 

[Kirsty]

Really? I never declare mine. It's a choice to tell the workplace as far as I know. If they found out afterwards, legally they can't fire us in the UK.

 

[rainy_day]

It came up as a recommended job on Totaljobs.com today, so I applied because it's easy to get to it's only at Owlerton in Hillsborough.

I did declare that I have AS and other disabilities, whether that will cost me the job I don't know, but legally in the UK if you have a disability you HAVE to declare it, even though IMO the equality laws in this Country are a joke.

Who has told you that you must declare it? ACAS advice on interviews is that most employers know they shouldn't ask about disability or health except in limited circumstances, and that employees are under no obligation to do this unless it poses a health or safety risk. (By the way, if declaring your disabilities directly led to you not getting the job (unless there was a good reason why your disabilities meant you couldn't do the job), then legally you would have been discriminated against: this is illegal.) Under the Equalities Act, employers are required to make reasonable adjustments, so, for instance, someone in a wheelchair really couldn't do a job that required them to climb up and down a ladder so that would be out of the question, but if the office they *should* be in was on the first floor, an office on the ground floor would be a reasonable adustment.

I think you need to get specialist advice.

 

[rainy_day]

I was surprised to see that Farmfoods found it
necessary to include a statement regarding
slavery and human trafficking on their home page.
Farmfoods

It's increasingly common for (large) companies to reference their slavery and human trafficking polices on their websites... Some companies ask for confirmation from prospective partners that they have such a policy.

 

[Mr Allen]

Really? I never declare mine. It's a choice to tell the workplace as far as I know. If they found out afterwards, legally they can't fire us in the UK.

Not directly, but there's ways round it IMO that they can bin you off for having a disability without directly implying that's the reason, because as I'm sure you know, if they directly fired you for having a disability, in theory you could sue the crap out of them for blatant discrimination, and any Judge worth his Pension would say you had a good case.