So, who is going to employ all these disabled people the government wants to wean of welfare

[Jimisnotmyname]

Really wondering. Not saying it is necessarily a bad thing to encourage those who can work, to work but as a carer for 2 disabled family members, I am hugely struggling to find another job as nobody is willing to give me any flexibility (which I need as a carer) and there are always candidates who do not need the same accomodations I do. I would imagine that many of those currently not in work because of disability or a health condition, will often need a similar level of flexibility. I just wonder who on the the government think will offer jobs galore on these circumstances??

Start with voluntary work.. it's a way back to work. That's what I did following my. cancer diagnosis, I am carer for a relative with profound disabilities and need to travel times a week on trains to see them. I have no family support. I have severe depression and am full of aches and pains, yet I still work full-time (from home) and I am 65. Worked since age 16 in some shitty jobs. Getting and keeping a job for most people is not that hard, a bit of effort and resilience is needed. I don't mean to be unkind but we cannot keep paying out for people who say they don't want to/can't work. I know people on benefits who can.

There's already a way to try out a job without losing benefits. It's called "permitted work". It's been around for years - I did it myself.

Wheelchair users are actually intelligent human beings shocker!!

Yes, funnily enough, lots of us were professionals with excellent careers before becoming disabled. Some of us can continue to work, some of us can't.

It's not extreme, though. As someone with Crohns, I spend time in hospital with others who have Crohns. I've never met anyone in real life with the disease who can live a normal life, let alone do extreme sports and work full time.

Get out of jail free? What do you mean by that? Do you mean obtain the absolutely pitiful £900 a month that disabled people get from PIP? £400 if the mobility element is used on a wheelchair or car.

Do you honestly think disabled people capable of working are choosing not to, for nine hundred fucking quid a month?

My sick leave is around this, probably more (partly because my condition flares every time I get my period). Didn't stop me getting promoted several times. Then I moved employer and passed my probation fine despite regular sick days. They know I work hard when I can, they know I make sure my files are in order so people can cover at short notice.

Don't you get housing benefit and council tax relief too?

Agreed, my ex has it . He thought his life was over when he was diagnosed. He's now an incredibly successful business leader, heads up a major national organisation. Owns several very nice houses. Leads a very full life. I don't doubt there are tough times too. But somehow he's made it work.

I appreciate everyone's symptoms are different but this thread has shown that people with disabilities and serious conditions who do work need to talk more about it, so more people can see that it is possible (and how)

Lol! No. I have a husband, which apparently means that I have all the support I need.

@WeylandYutani sending a hug. They don't understand that they are making people feel worthless. hold your head up high and don't let people shame you. It's not clear exactly what is definitely going to happen and what isn't at the moment there might be some changes. I'm sure you won't be the only one feeling like this and I'm so sorry this is happening.
I'm never voting labour again and many more won't either

I guess you're fortunate in a way then having someone else to support you financially but the gov would probably have given you more money if not

Or whatever benefits are given - it was basically saying they can do a no risk trial working

@Overtheatlantic can't work in a care home unless you are fit enough to do moving and handling of people, not many disabled people can do that!

Can afford to pay 3.96 billion per year for immigrants though? 🙄

The reality of it is he can't afford to support us all financially. We scrape by but only just, and are surviving not thriving. Married disabled people where one party works are absolutely fucked over.

Not to mention he also has an autoimmune disease so has to struggle working full time. I'm scared of the day when his body gives up, because it will.

@PaintDecisions that sounds similar to a friend of mine; he has everything going for him and I'm not qualified to talk about any mental struggle he might have.

He had a breakdown in central London but luckily kind people got him to safety. He's one of the people we want to protect.

Try having fibromyalgia. It's a ball! But sure, it doesn't exist ...

The only way to do it is to give employees a financial incentive to employ, maybe by not having to pay employers ni on that persons salary.

however the main issue with this given the changes is how do you identify the people this is aimed at and give the ni exemption? Previously you could have said ni exemption for people on pip, but it seems like the majority the gov want to get back into work will no longer qualify for pip

Same here, my employer invests a lot in this regard.

But realistically in most jobs… take the NHS for example, after 3 occasions of sickness you would be on a warning then no sickness for 6 months or you trigger the next stage
Not many employers are as forgiving
Occupational health told me I should work part time, I said well who pays the mortgage then? She said “well does PIP not help with the costs of it?”
Um no… I don’t get PIP

I work in local government with some chronic health conditions. They are good with me, allowing me to work from home if I need to, use flexitime for medical appointments. But there are a lot of applications for jobs here now, sometimes 50 per vacancy. I doubt I'd have been picked if I applied now.

That's nonsense, care homes and education settings are front facing roles with no option to WFH, definitely not flexible a flexible option.

There is already a massive gap of manual labor workforce and those required to be there in person. House renovation work, plumbing, electrics, construction work , etc. Care workers and teachers, nursery staff. Hard days work where you have to show up in person, do shifts, do extra hours, work with your hands or with people and graft. People go into these jobs healthy and come out sick. Then they don’t get the support they need to get healthy again. Back pain caused by heavy lifting can be resolved if you access the right services. Mental health issues like burnout and depression caused by an unruly class or toxic environment can be supported if you provide a better environment and surrounding services. This is where focus needs to be.

Meanwhile the “comfortable” admin jobs are disappearing as they are replaced by AI. Customer service agents, self checkouts, data entry, minute taking etc. It’s much cheaper for employers to pay for AI that never goes off sick. There won’t be enough of these jobs to accommodate everyone.

Workplace culture also plays a role. Is it a workplace where a parent can take unlimited sick days to take care of their child? Can you take sick days to care for your elderly relatives? Are mental health days available to all employees? If not you are creating a divide between employees which eventually leads to bitterness which then creates a toxic environment which then leads to more people taking time off with burnout, depression etc

Another thing that needs mentioning in terms of jobs is that I have seen able people actively agitate for disabled colleagues to be sacked as they feel they are not pulling their weight. It is horrible today but disabled people do get bullied and if we consider work based bullying is probably going to disproportionately impact those with disabilities.

also if you look at jobs where there is a demand many are simply not suited for the disabled e.g. Truck drivers, warehouse work, manual care work, warehouse operatives, cleaners etc. If we take more sedentary roles these are often competitive graduate roles and there may be so points that able people are being displaced to allow disabled people to take these roles as it is the government mantra to get disabled people into work.

on fact one thing that is not calculated is the economic impact of the efficiency loss of getting disabled people into the workforce due to the loss of efficency and overheads for business. It seems the government are displacing an economic burden form the public to private sector and the private sector is not going to ultimately accept this. Many business in them last that employed a high number of disabled people in the past either had state subsidy or were large companies that could absorb costs and created great PR from an inclusive image.

I too dint know how this is going to work. Realistically it can't because businesses are cutthroat ruthless, there to make money.