Why can't I get a job as a disabled 42 year old Aspie in the UK?

[Gracey]

It's the same way you don't get people that obviously look like strung-out drug addicts on the tills. .

Have you been in a North West (UK) branch of Home Bargains lately?

A couple of the women on the tills look worse than the skanks going in to shop lift.

I do understand what you write about customer facing roles.
I suspect many employers have a ‘type’ in mind when advertising and interviewing to fill a position.
Just because I suspect this doesn’t mean it actually happens.

I’ve seen job specs for roles asking for ‘clean and presentable’ applicants before now.
No definition for acceptable standards of clean and presentable.


My point being, legally, companies can’t discriminate.

There’s a line in a film called Charlie Wilson’s War whereby on being asked about his choice in secretaries he replies
“ You can teach ‘em to type but you can’t teach ‘em to grow t*ts”
That would certainly be illegal in UK

 

[Mr Allen]

@Mr Allen:

Have you tried temp agencies? And do you have to reveal that your previous jobs were unpaid? Good luck with that. I just got hired at a temp agency today. I'm hoping it works out better than some of my previous jobs.

Edited to remove irrelevancy

I've been to most of the Agencies in Sheffield, and in 2008 I actually set up what was going to be an interview for a temporary Office job somewhere near the City Centre, but I got there and the snooty manager denied all knowledge of contacting me to arrange the interview

So discrimination was definitely happening there but of course I couldn't do anything because under the law, the onus is on ME to prove it in a Court of law in any lawsuit against a company, that's why most companies get away with it because the disabled applicant is likely on benefits and doesn't have the resources to fight a big Court battle against big Companies, not even with a Lawyer who operates a "No win no fee" policy

Also, temp work would literally be a pain in the ass to sort out with the benefits office due to its temporary nature and the fact that as discussed previously on here at length, for a lot of reasons I cannot come off benefits in order to work.

 

[pamelaperejil]

I've been to most of the Agencies in Sheffield, and in 2008 I actually set up what was going to be an interview for a temporary Office job somewhere near the City Centre, but I got there and the snooty manager denied all knowledge of contacting me to arrange the interview

Sorry to hear that.

So discrimination was definitely happening there but of course I couldn't do anything because under the law, the onus is on ME to prove it in a Court of law in any lawsuit against a company, that's why most companies get away with it because the disabled applicant is likely on benefits and doesn't have the resources to fight a big Court battle against big Companies, not even with a Lawyer who operates a "No win no fee" policy

Yeah.

Also, temp work would literally be a pain in the ass to sort out with the benefits office due to its temporary nature and the fact that as discussed previously on here at length, for a lot of reasons I cannot come off benefits in order to work.

Good luck to you. I know it sounds cringeworthy, but have you considered signing up for one of the Gospel Missions? You would work for free room and board, and I think you could still save your benefits.

 

[pamelaperejil]

My point being, legally, companies can’t discriminate.

Legally, they can't do a lot of things that they do.

There’s a line in a film called Charlie Wilson’s War whereby on being asked about his choice in secretaries he replies
“ You can teach ‘em to type but you can’t teach ‘em to grow t*ts”
That would certainly be illegal in UK

It's illegal in the U.S., which only illustrates my point.

I'm not trying to be discouraging or make excuses for anyone, just contradict this idea that things that are illegal don't happen because they're illegal. That's not always the case. And if you can't prove discrimination when it's a question of gender (which is obvious and observable), how much more difficult is it going to be to prove when it's a question of disability (which much less obvious and observable) or some sort of vague criteria like "the way a person looks".

 

[Joel's Hear]

It makes a difference if it's a public-facing role. An employer wants a person that looks well and will be an asset to the firm, not a negative. It's the same way you don't get people that obviously look like strung-out drug addicts on the tills. That's really all it is.

Stuff like this is relevant and matters. If it was private and his disability didn't affect the job, it would be no problem.

Put your own creepy looking picture up ding bat. Instead of a dumb ads question mark. I like Mr. Allen.

 

[Joel's Hear]

Your attitude really doesn't help. For one thing you have a terrible profile picture. The way you t

Also, finish your dam post if you're gonna say something. Cat got your tongue?

 

[Mr Allen]

Legally, they can't do a lot of things that they do.



It's illegal in the U.S., which only illustrates my point.

I'm not trying to be discouraging or make excuses for anyone, just contradict this idea that things that are illegal don't happen because they're illegal. That's not always the case. And if you can't prove discrimination when it's a question of gender (which is obvious and observable), how much more difficult is it going to be to prove when it's a question of disability (which much less obvious and observable) or some sort of vague criteria like "the way a person looks".

Gender based discrimination isn't illegal in the UK as far as I know.

For instance, most clothes shops mainly employ women, however a few months back I applied to Peacock's in Hillsborough Precinct, didn't get the job obviously, but I'm a 42 year old disabled MAN.

 

[pamelaperejil]

Okay, but my point was that it doesn't matter so much whether there's a law against it. I imagine the case is virtually unwinnable in court, assuming you could get a lawyer to even take the case (which, you probably couldn't). So, effectively, you're back to: suck it up, buttercup.

Serious about the Gospel Mission thing.

 

[Quart]

Gender based discrimination isn't illegal in the UK as far as I know.

You have to think - if the role requires a certain gender, then it must be so. A short braces-wearing obese man wouldn't work on the catwalk unless there were special circumstances.

 

[Mr Allen]

Okay, but my point was that it doesn't matter so much whether there's a law against it. I imagine the case is virtually unwinnable in court, assuming you could get a lawyer to even take the case (which, you probably couldn't). So, effectively, you're back to: suck it up, buttercup.

Serious about the Gospel Mission thing.

Do NOT call me Buttercup.

 

[pamelaperejil]

Sorry to give offense. It was a reference to the other thread.

My point stands.

Any chance of working yourself into a paid position at one of these volunteer jobs?

 

[Mr Allen]

Sorry to give offense. It was a reference to the other thread.

My point stands.

Any chance of working yourself into a paid position at one of these volunteer jobs?

Nope, due to my benefit situation, I can only work limited hours, so if I became the Manager of a Charity shop, I would have to work too many hours even if I did a job share and got a Deputy Manager in.

That and the fact I couldn't manage a night of Debauchery in a Brewery much less a shop.

 

[Quart]

Nope, due to my benefit situation, I can only work limited hours, so if I became the Manager of a Charity shop, I would have to work too many hours even if I did a job share and got a Deputy Manager in.

That and the fact I couldn't manage a night of Debauchery in a Brewery much less a shop.

There are places you can talk about this. You probably don't want it public.

 

[pamelaperejil]

Nope, due to my benefit situation, I can only work limited hours, so if I became the Manager of a Charity shop, I would have to work too many hours even if I did a job share and got a Deputy Manager in.

That's hard. I jut barely got on Medical, and if I worked too many hours I would lose it. I've almost never had health insurance before, and I need it. So now I have to figure in how many hours I'm working versus the cost of paying medical insurance out of pocket, versus the likelihood of having serious medical complications, which is actually pretty high in my case. But, man, I would so much rather work for it if I could.

I'm not on disability and I've had some bad experiences with my past jobs, which makes it really difficult to find a job. I've spent my whole life trying to tough it out, but it just doesn't seem to be working. I wish I knew what to do.

That and the fact I couldn't manage a night of Debauchery in a Brewery much less a shop.

Don't know what that means...

 

[Bolletje]

Gender based discrimination isn't illegal in the UK as far as I know.

It’s not legal in the Netherlands, but as a 32-year old woman, you can bet that in a job interview my potential employer will try to figure out if I plan on getting pregnant sometime soon. I’ve literally had someone tell me he was reluctant to hire me because “women your age tend to get pregnant the minute they sign their employment contract”.

 

[Mr Allen]

That's hard. I jut barely got on Medical, and if I worked too many hours I would lose it. I've almost never had health insurance before, and I need it. So now I have to figure in how many hours I'm working versus the cost of paying medical insurance out of pocket, versus the likelihood of having serious medical complications, which is actually pretty high in my case. But, man, I would so much rather work for it if I could.

I'm not on disability and I've had some bad experiences with my past jobs, which makes it really difficult to find a job. I've spent my whole life trying to tough it out, but it just doesn't seem to be working. I wish I knew what to do.



Don't know what that means...

It's an English saying "Couldn't manage a Piss up in a Brewery" is the correct way but I was trying to not upset the Mods by "swearing".

 

[Quart]

It means he couldn't have a party in a brewery.

 

[Mary Anne]

Rich, I don’t recall you ever posting about utilising a staffing agency, or disability licensed employment specialist. They must have both in the UK. You don’t have to do all this job stuff alone.

 

[Mr Allen]

Rich, I don’t recall you ever posting about utalising a staffing agency, or disability licensed employment specialist. They must have both in the UK. You don’t have to do all this job stuff alone.

Rich, I don’t recall you ever posting about utalising a staffing agency, or disability licensed employment specialist. They must have both in the UK. You don’t have to do all this job stuff alone.

I'm with Autism Plus at the moment looking for work related activities.

They're helping me with my CV, job preparation, interview technique and other stuff

Also

n 2008 I went for what was supposed to be an interview at a local Agency...

.

I posted that this morning.

 

[AloneNotLonely]

I think a BIG part of the problem is potential employers are seeing 23 years of voluntary work including placements from College, but no PROPER, REAL work experience.

Meh, it's not my fault that voluntary Charity work has been literally the only work I've ever been able to get apart from College placements.

At least I had the guts to go out and work, for free, all those years, some people wouldn't even get out of bed for less than minimum wage.

Here's the thing; people tell you a lot of BS but in the end it's how you spin it. "You have to keep doing volunteer work otherwise employers will he hesitant to hire you with a gap in your CV!". It's nonsense. Your CV might not get picked because of the gap, but if you get invited to the interview if you can show that you can bring a lot of value to the company and that you have a good reason for doing nothing for 20 years then they will hire you. You better be Machiavelli himself in order to do that, though.

You spin everything in a negative way. You might put on a happy face for the interview, but to NT's such negativity just below the surface of a veneer of enthusiasm hits them like a truck full of cow manure. Even something positive such as refusing to sit at home all day doing nothing because you are passionate about working and find purpose in bringing value to a company can be spun in a negative way, especially when your entire being just screams negativity.

Start by questioning why you want to work at that supermarket. Why did you work for free all those years? The next time you want to apply, spend some serious time thinking about why you want to work that job and why you spent 20 years working volunteer work. "It's a job" is not a good reason. "I need something to do" is not a good reason. You also need to tackle the negativity, but that might just be a nigh impossible job. You worry too much. You want too much. Don't get me wrong, but you really really want some things. Things go wrong. A lot. You can rail against reality all you want but it's not going to change, it's good to be passionate about things but you need to understand when to let go and simply be passionate about it without requiring the world to fit your exact specifications.