Elaine Teague is the CEO of the Disability Federation of Ireland, a national support organisation for disability groups. She says many of these people are willing and able to work.
“They want to contribute, but the disability employment rate in Ireland is 32.6%, the lowest in the EU and well below the EU average of 51.3%,” she says. “There are barriers that stand in their way.”
One barrier is that they lose their disability allowance and other social protections as soon as they find employment, which can make them think twice.
“What if the job doesn’t work out, or what if it’s a short-term role?” asks Teague. “It can take a long time to get those safeguards back. We’d like to see these social protections removed on a gradual basis, not immediately and all at once, and for it to be easier to reinstate them if needed.”
Dara Ryder is the CEO of Ahead, an organisation working to shape inclusive environments in education and employment. He identifies a lack of awareness as another barrier to employing people with disabilities.
“Take the recruitment and interview process, for example,” he says. “Disabled candidates often communicate in ways that are different to others, which can be perceived negatively by employers. Employers often use psychometric tests that are known to disadvantage some disabled candidates as part of their recruitment process. And employers don’t always ensure that interviews take place in accessible venues or offer accommodations as part of the interview process.”
Research carried out by Ahead in 2021 found that many employers don’t target candidates with disabilities.
While 75% of the 250 private sector companies it surveyed said they considered hiring people with disabilities essential to supporting business innovation, only 37% had targeted them for recruitment.
Difficulty finding work
Karen Chadwick, who is 46 years old and from Portlaoise, knows how challenging it can be to participate in the workforce as a disabled person. She has a range of conditions, including Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, which affects her connective tissue.
“I wasn’t diagnosed with anything except deafness in my left ear until I was an adult, but I’ve been tired and in pain for as long as I can remember,” she says. “I assumed everyone felt that way.”
She worked in childcare after she left school, but worsening symptoms meant she was eventually unable to perform the physical nature of the job. So she retrained in community development.
“I found interviews difficult when I started looking for work,” she says. “I couldn’t always hear the interviewers and didn’t want to tell them I had trouble hearing. When I did get hired, I would get so tired or struggle with simple tasks like lifting heavy objects. I felt lazy, stupid, and like a failure.”
Two things changed her outlook: Her diagnosis and finding work as an employment facilitator. The first made her realise there was a reason why she found work difficult. The second made her aware of the supports that could help overcome those difficulties.
She has since modified her approach to work.
“I work from home and to a flexible schedule, which means I can control my environment and don’t have to use energy on commuting,” she says. “My employer has also invested in smaller accommodations such as buying me a supportive chair, an ergonomic computer mouse, and installing speech-to-text software on my laptop.”
It’s not only disabled people like Chadwick who benefit when the barriers that block their progress in the workforce are removed. Teague cites research, including a 2008 Danish study, which shows there’s a business case to be made for more accessible workplaces.
“Disabled people tend to experience higher job satisfaction than their non-disabled peers,” she says. “This contributes to lower employee turnover. There are also studies showing that employees with disabilities are inclined to work harder, be more productive, and have lower levels of absenteeism. They benefit organisations in all sorts of ways.”
The wage subsidy scheme supports people with disabilities entering the workplace and incentivises employers to hire them.
“This financial support enables employers to claim back up to €12,700 per disabled employee per year,” says Teague.
Another scheme is the work and access programme.
Ryder says: “The programme can cover a range of services such as the provision of a sign language interpreter for a job interview, installing assistive technology in the workplace, or delivering disability awareness training.”
Ahead offers supports too. These include free disability awareness training courses for employers; the GetAhead initiative, which upskills graduates with disabilities; and the WAM programme, which offers graduates with disabilities the opportunity to undertake paid and mentored work placements.
“We’re also working with a group called Employers for Change to develop the WIDE [Widening Inclusion of Disability in Employment] framework, which aims to help employers in reducing barriers to hiring, retaining and promoting people with disabilities, and creating more inclusive working environments,” says Ryder. “It will contain guidance notes and resources for employers alongside self-review tools to measure progress, and it’s expected to launch this winter.”
Receiving support
Siobhán Mungovan, 38, sees herself as someone who has received the supports she needs to thrive at work.
“I’ve been helped to learn and grow from the ground up ever since I started with Clare County Council 18 years ago,” says the clerical officer from Ennis. “The fact I have spina bifida was never held against me.”
Mungovan believes everyone faces hurdles in life: “Our choice is to stumble or jump. So far, I’ve always chosen to jump, even if I have sometimes needed a helping hand to clear the hurdle.”
The support she has needed to date has been minimal: “I’m small, so I need a smaller chair. I find it hard to climb stairs, so it’s best if I work on the ground floor or near a lift. I’m unable to do much manual work. But I get over that through communication with my team. Nobody on this planet can do everything on their own. We all need to be more open about what we can and can’t do.”
She believes her ability to be open may be the secret to her success: “I know it’s difficult for employers to consider hiring someone like me. How can I expect them to know what I need to do my job unless I tell them? It’s always been my philosophy to meet them where they’re at so they can meet me where I’m at and it’s worked for me so far. Rather than focusing on my disability and what I can’t do, my employer has found out what I’m good at and brought the best out in me.”
Teague would like to see more employers take that same approach: “Employers often think that hiring disabled people is complicated or costly. They don’t realise that by opening up their hiring process to disabled people, they are accessing a pool of untapped talent that will be of benefit to their business. Nor do they realise that there is so much information, advice, and support available to help them hire, employ, manage, and retain staff with disabilities. They will find a comprehensive list at employersforchange.ie.”