Application Forms

I have been looking for a part time Christmas job.

I know the sheer volume of people applying make my chances small but I have noticed they now all ask about disability and what could affect your work.They say how could we make it easier for you?


As a Diabetic if I feel the sugar level dropping I have to eat or drink straight away.I have stated this on the forms but do you think my application would be promptly binned because of this?Should I leave it off ?

PS I am a bit more careful about my spelling when filling in these forms LOL

Denise have you read the new laws on job applications. I don't think that they can ask about health issues. SB

Denise

Yes from October 1st they can no longer ask about your health or that of anybody in your family. If they do and you don't get the job you can sue.

Phil

They phrase it something like this..how can we help with any disability........

Hi Denise at almost every induction I have been to on building sites there have been diabetics and for the most part it doesn't make any difference to their ability or attendance , I don't think diabetes is a major obstacle to employment and seems very common , unfortunatly ,I believe the information is required in case you are taken ill and people know about your condition Bernie

It certainly shouldn't stop anyone getting MOST jobs, but I think Managers and first aiders should know about such things as Diabetes and Epilepsy for instance. I am not sure an Epileptic should be operating a Tower crane. SB

Being an ex employer if I am honest I am against this. I'm sorry but there is nothing a physically disabled person could have done for me without being assisted.Lets face it I didn't think half of the big strapping fully fit men could do the job properly and I'm sorry women were not just strong enough to do the job.

Phil

It obviously depends on the job but on the whole I must agree with you Phil.

That law sounds completly over the top , there are jobs that people with disabilities are not suited to do but disclosure of epilepsy and things of that nature should be made as the wrong job could prove fatal for someone. I do think that people with disabilities probably are discriminated against but that law is not the answer

The law certainly seems to have gone too far, as I see it. The trouble is that some people just cannot do some jobs. This is not limited to physical disabilities. Someone who cannot grasp how to work of computers, which probably would include a percentage of older people, could not do a computer based job properly. No one suggests that there should be positive discrimination to force empoyers to take them. As Phil says, in his old firm, someone with physical disabilities could not have done the job without assistance . I haven't any physical disabilities , but I doubt if i could either. Many firms have in the past tried to do the best for people with disabilities, and on occasion have come up against great problems . I wouldn't think diabetes would be a problem in any job, unless perhaps it involved going up in a space capsule or alone to antarctica. Epilepsy is entirely different. My old firm employed someone who did not reveal she was epileptic . Nor, apparently, did she reveal it to the DVLA. She was accepted on the company motor insurance policy (only involving occasional driving admittedly), but suddenly had a fit in the office when the truth came out. If it had occurred when driving under the firms policy, and there had been an accident, then there could have been a lot of trouble for the firm.
mike

Maybe some people become desperate for a job and it makes them do daft things.