Pathways 6 month review

Good to get that rant out of your system. Your experience makes me angry and I am guessing that it is not an isolated incident. I’d like to know how they go about recruiting people like the girl you saw. She said you have a negative attitude? I would say her attitude needs a bit of working on.

So what happens next, do you get some sort of correspondence from this review?

Frankly, these SOBs need to get a reality check. WE are genuinely disabled and they are treating us like charlatans. They have no real knowledge of disability even less when it comes to a progressive neuromuscular condition like MD. How the hell are we meant to work in a fast paced retail environment for minimum wage swapping one hell for another? On your feet all day that would be sheer torture. These parasites are just soulless bureaucrats following the orders of a callous Conservative government trying to get everyone off welfare regardless of whether they are genuine or not. I’m beginning to regret voting Conservative perhaps I was naive when they said “genuine disabled people have nothing to fear” I naturally believed them. Then again I am young, but I’m learning…. I will be writing to the DWP at some point expressing my disdain and moral outrage. I urge everone else to voice their concerns etc

I’m sorry you were treated so shabbily Ranald. What happens now? I grimace at the prospect of being summoned to one of these places; the one thing the government does not use is common sense or logic.

I hate the idea of being forced into a minimum wage job just because I’m disabled or being classed as “work capable” when I’m clearly not. If I wasn’t disabled I would be in the army, police force or have an apprenticeship like any regular working-class lad. However, because I have MD those avenues are closed to me and don’t have many career options. Despite being relatively educated: A Levels and a HND (I did attend University for 7 months, but due to my condition I dropped out as I received no support and do not have a care-er)I lack the physical capacity to work which I find depressing to some extent. Should my health ever improve I will probably apply to become a trainee parole/probation officer, but given the nature of my condition and current recession and cuts to government departments bar a miracle I won’t hold my breath.

Sar78 and Paul58 what’s your situation R.E: employment?

I think the MD campaign should set up an advocacy group for matters such as these. I’m pretty sure one could argue that this kind of treatment is an infringement on our human rights as disabled people.

I’d love to hear more so please post any thoughts, comments etc

Poundland!! I can’t even get my chair round that shop its so crammed full of stuff, let alone if they wanted someone to work in there

Oh good grief — I am sooooo going to have to reign in my major sarcasm if and when I get interviewed

@paul58 wrote:

Just thought of something. Perhaps this is a job for disabled people. Plenty of understanding, empathy and common sense that is required would be available. Aah, but that would not get people off the benefits, which is what this all about in reality. Bloody government! :evil:

Whose side you on!!! Husher your lips, don’t give them ideas!!!

I feel the urge to bore you all with an anecdote … get comfy …

The year, around 1996/1998 … I was out of work [again] and looking for a fresh challenge … our local “Job Centre” had employed an assistant to the Disability Employment officer … like anyone starting a new job she was full of enthusiasm and encouragement, bless her, determined to help match the right opportunities to the disabled people of town. She would regularly telephone peeps to inform them of the latest jobs being advertised in the job centre and discuss getting their cv put through.

I received such a call, and it went something like this …

ADEO – Hey, its me. I am calling to tell you of a great job that would suit you so well.
ME – Oh?
ADEO – Yes, you like ships and sailing and things of that nature, right?
ME – Yes I have sailed on adapted ships and have a range of nautical knowledge and protocols
ADEO – I thought so. This Company, a rig supply company, needs a purser
[short silence, I was waiting for elaboration, like land based at their offices]
ME – A purser … but that means onboard ship
ADEO – Well yes, but you’ve done that sort of thing
ME – There is only one ocean going ‘ship’ in the world equipped to take wheelchair sailors and it is not a rig supply vessel
ADEO – So you don’t want to go for it?
[at this point she was about to launch into her, your benefit may be stopped if speech but I interrupted]
ME – Tell you what, could you phone their Human Resources person and ask if they are willing to take a wheelchair purser on their ships? Because you do realise that their weather doors have a minimum 18 inches lip to step over, and their stairs are steeper and tighter than land stairs, the heads and showers are designed to fit in a closet. If they say yes, I will put my cv to them.
ADEO – I’ll call them

Strangely I never heard back about this job. The next time she called it was about a job with the Health and Safety Executive, to go on sites and inspect buildings and scaffolding and other hard hat steel toe cap booted jobs. She was a hoot

The dunce precedent is set as far as ’employment advising’ goes. ::shakeshead::

hi waving the white flag before I start…

Right.. I used to work for or should I say be force to work for goverment careers sevice for school leavers up to the age of 25. It was my first admin posting on a training scheme fresh from school on something like a crappy 49 quid a week. They sent people to everything and anything even if it didn’t match that person abilities or career path, just to justify paying them benefit. I was continually pass over for a perm position even though I was more qualified than the others. And I may add that an office that specialised in getting disabled school leavers jobs or further education wasnt accessible to its disabled staff or visitors..

ok. when undergoing interigation.. cough interview.. you have to be a bit of a smart ass but be polite at the same time..Its your interview make it work for you be armed with questions it will probably be too much for her! Will send her into melt down as shes not quailified to answer anything.

soo when your barmaid/admin person who is certanilly not a qualified careers adviser, (coz it is a degree) asks you in a very perky voice “what about the fab new position at very busy discount store poundland”

Your reply is -“Have you carried out an access and risk assessment of this postion and the working environment”
This wont have been done as they cant possible visit everywhere and cover situations for every candidate.
Educate her a little. You have MD and their would be too many duties in a store like this that you couldn’t complete, you could never stack shelves as you cant bend or reach up, their is too many trip hazards around the store and is too enclosed. Your would find working the till challanging as it would also require reaching, lifting and standing for long perionds of time. handling the money requires fine motor skill that are greatly reducing due to your condition. You seldom shop in stores like this as they are very Claustrophobic and nosy. And the back stores will be even worse with heavy doors and probably wont have a disabled loo. You also feel that they couldn’t accomadate your need to use the loo regular or very suddinly and you feel highlighting this very degrading.. cry if you can

And what ever you do dont let them send you to a fast food place like Mcdonalds, kfc, burger king coz you will never get off cleaning duty. the uneducated kid gets promoted to store manager after sticking it more than 6 months but you will have noticed that its nearly always older, disabled or foreign people that are landed with cleanup for ever. One of the reastaurants near me has had the same cleaner for years, she has a slight hearing problem and has requested several times to work the till and has been refused. she has a maths degree…. She cant leave as its good pay and good hours for her kids..

Their is plenty of jobs in the retail industry that wee could do but sadly the entrance level jobs(unlesss you know someone who works for them) are often the harder pysical low paid jobs. ie the guy at asda with a wooden leg gets to collect the trollies instead of sitting in the petrol station booth..

cat

@catatude wrote:

Your reply is -“Have you carried out an access and risk assessment of this position and the working environment”
This wont have been done as they cant possible visit everywhere and cover situations for every candidate.
Educate her a little. You have MD and their would be too many duties in a store like this that you couldn’t complete, you could never stack shelves as you cant bend or reach up, their is too many trip hazards around the store and is too enclosed. Your would find working the till challenging as it would also require reaching, lifting and standing for long periods of time. handling the money requires fine motor skill that are greatly reducing due to your condition. You seldom shop in stores like this as they are very Claustrophobic and nosy. And the back stores will be even worse with heavy doors and probably wont have a disabled loo. You also feel that they couldn’t accommodate your need to use the loo regular or very suddenly and you feel highlighting this very degrading.. cry if you can

cat

Oww gold stars ….. hit em with their own paperwork :twisted: