Disabled should work for less than minimum wage

[ElvishArchdruid]

Watching BBC24 and astounded at a woman who has come on to endorse that disabled folk should be paid less than normal (whatever that is) folk.

It's done her daughter the world of good and she thinks it fair as her daughter works at a slower pace with Downs Syndrome. I feel like they're casting a rather big net for a single group that may work slower. But the insinuation that I should be paid less than minimum wage is pretty outrageous. I'm sure there's lots like me who are mentally very capable, but have a body that doesn't co-operate.

A charity has endorsed this position too.

It has left me fuming, the woman by appearances can take the hit of her daughter getting paid less than minimum wage, let alone a living wage, subsidising her daughter possibly.

There is anger whilst I type this, but I can't see myself ever accepting such a suggestion.

Dixie but paying some one (at all) a nominal amount to socialise, learn new skills, get out the house, to be included in society etc is not 'taking advantage',

Dawn this is about people with learning disabilities, not physical.

Dawn this is about people with learning disabilities, not physical.

No, it isn't just about people with learning disabilities. It is about whether it is okay to discard the rules on NMW for some people but not others. ie. whether it is okay for one sector of society to have fewer rights and protection in law than the rest of society. You may argue will only affect those with severe learning disabilities (this would still be wrong IMO) but even if it did, once you open the gate it won't be long before it is extended to all people with learning disabilities and everyone else with disabilities.

Cosy - deafness, which I've already recounted having my salary cut for - is not a LD.

Dawn this is about people with learning disabilities, not physical.
I have Asperger Syndrome. Don't make assumptions and don't even dare to think about being patronising toward me.

Dixie cosy how do you know that Dawn struggles with those things do you to physical disability rather than asd?

Because she said.

Dawn calm down. Not every thread is about you.

I'm talking about learning difficulties, as the original post was about Diana Monckton whose daughter works at a slower pace with Downs Syndrome.

Dawn calm down. Not every thread is about you.

And you said WE were patronising!

1. her name is Rosa Monckton
2. Dominica has Down Syndrome. It's not always the case that LDs accompany it, there are many variables within the Syndrome some of which may be completely absent.

So once again we have employers' prejudice towards disability also widely illustrated on this thread towards both physical and mental disability. As I have illustrated with ,y RL example regarding physical disability.

It's employers that are the problem. The perception that disability leads to reduced productivity is false.

I'm aware I spelled her daughter's name wrong, bloody autocorrect.

Cosy I'm aware not every thread is about me dear, just as every thread is not about promulgating your rather tiresome tropes with regard to people with learning disabilities. The fact is that this thread is about people with disabilities. The fact is that once parameters have been shifted, they continue to be. The fact is that your views are disablist and your obfuscatory tactics are not working. The fact is that I didn't say I had a physical disability, that was a conclusion to which you jumped. As it happens, I have both an ASC and a Physical Disability. It's really quite common you know.

I said before that I can't see anything wrong with this if it's a community project or a not for profit organisation. Then it would cancel out any accusation of people being exploited. Otherwise even charities would be breaking rules when employing volunteers and not paying minimum wage. But I can see why people think it might not be a good thing if it was not dealt with in a proper manner.

YY Lou thats exactly what i meant. She wont understand that her entitlement will chop and change when her hours do and wont know how to work it out or when to phone them.

What I particularly dislike about this idea is the strange attitudes behind it. It has been said by Rosa Monckton and her husband Dominic Lawson that allowing people with disabilities to work for less than minimum wage would be "therapeutic" and possibly " transformative", but they provide no evidence as to why in most cases this would be the case. Rosa Monckton is rightly concerned about day care centres etc for those with disabilities being shut, but as far as I know, their usual purpose was not to provide work for those with disabilities at very little pay, but genuinely enriching and stimulating activities like drama, dance, arts and crafts. Chopping food, pouring coffee, wiping tables, standing in a shop, doing basic cleaning and pretty repetitive tasks in an office, factory etc are jobs that need to be done but they are hardly the same thing or necessarily "therapeutic". I am not saying that people with disabilities should not do these jobs if they are capable of them, and they may get something out of working, but they should be paid the same as those without disabilities. If they are really incapable of doing the job up to the usual level, I think it could be considered expoitative to have them working at all outside of a different, supported environment, such as perhaps provided by a nonprofit organization.

I have a disability and I am also an employer although my organization is a very very small so usually I only have one paid employee at a time . The young lady who worked for me before was also severely visually impaired but she was receiving quite a good salary and had her flight and hotel paid for when she attended a conference . I also encouraged her to do mobility and other things she needed to do to be more independent . She now has her own small business and I am really proud of her .

Often things cost more when you have a disability and there are fewer opportunities available to you so any organization that suggests not paying a person minimum wage is not really in touch with reality .