Shall I register my Disability?

[GoneAnonForThis]

Hi

I'm not sure whether I'm in the right place but I'm hoping that I will get some advice.

I'm hard of hearing and have never registered my disability as it never occured to me to do so. I guess I've tried to ignore my deafness and have necer really faced up to it. It's only now that I'm older (35 years old) that I'm brave enough to tackle it. I have been told tiem after time that my hearing is getting worse etc but it never really sunk in.

In the meantime, I just carried on working and struggling in the workplace but somehow just getting by.

I have many questions but my biggest question is this: will registering disabled hinder my future chances of getting a job? I've been in my current job for 5 years and i'm quite settled but feel it's time to move on once the econmic climate improves. And are there any advantages of registering my disability?

TIA

Hi,

I'm not sure what exactly you mean by registering your disability, do you mean with your employer?

I have moderate hearing loss which is getting worse. I have been with my current employer for 8 years, when I first applied there I did not consider myself disabled. I have apllied for, and gained 2 internal promotions during that time and when doing so ticked the 'disabled box' as I have now come to terms with the fact that I am disabled by my deafness.

If you do declare your disability to your employers it does give you some protection under the terms of the Disability Discrimination Act.

Are you in a union and get some advice from them? Failing that can you talk to someone in HR.

Good luck

Thanks for your response. Yes I meant registering my disability with my employer and local county. I was urged by the hospital (after another hearing test) to register it with my county council as it will enable me to get some finanical help etc. But at the same time if registering it will hinder my chances of future jobs, then I don't really want to do it.