A prospective employer may be afraid that they will have to buy extra equipment or pay someone else to help any disabled staff that they take on.
This little known and under utilised scheme should put their minds at rest and may give you some extra financial help with additional costs associated with disability eg a support worker, travel costs to work or equipment.
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Disabled...mes/DG_4000347
Also, if you haven't tried to claim Disability Living Allowance (DLA), I recommend that you do so now. At the moment, some sight impaired people do get this benefit.
I say "at the moment" because DLA is going to be abolished as part of Government cuts. It will be replaced by something called a Personal Independence Payment (PIP.) This will be harder to get and, unfortunately, those with sight problems look set to be one of the groups to lose out most.
If you claim now, there is a chance that you will get what is called "transitional protection" and be cushioned from the effects of the cuts for some time.
Both DLA and PIP are tax free and are not affected by ANY other benefits or wages.
It could be argued that a change in your circumstances, like starting work, means that your care and mobility needs increase. This may increase any award currently in payment, or trigger a previously failed application into being successful on resubmission.
Other help that may be available to sight impaired people looking for work, in work and out of work are, depending on the severity of your sight impairment:
- A free bus pass (some places let you use it on local trains too.)
- An extra tax allowance, so that you pay less tax.
- A half price television licence.
- If you believe that you are being discriminated against because of your disability, either when applying for or doing a job, the Equalities And Human Rights Commission can help you by using the Disability Discrimination Act. This link provides more information.
http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/l...y/enforcement/
Your ESA claim will be looked at and there will be three possible outcomes:
- You will be found fully fit for work, be denied ESA and told to claim Jobseekers Allowance instead.
- You will be found capable of being able to do some types of jobs and placed into the "work focussed" group. Due to Government cuts, SOME people will now lose this after a year.
- You will be found unfit for any work, put into the ""support" group, unless you want to be put into the "work focussed" group voluntarily and may continue to claim ESA indefinitely.
Don't hesitate to contact me if I can help any further and I wish you luck,
Richard.
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