Barriers that get in the way of People with Learning Disabilities Finding Work

People with learning disabilities frequently want to participate in the world of work. The Warwickshire Learning Disability Partnership Board has been told by learning disabled people what their problems are. We think it will be of interest to everyone to have a better understanding of the barriers facing people seeking jobs.

Benefits System

Parents and carers worry about benefits. The rules about "permitted earnings" are not easy to understand.
There can be complicated changes to other benefits (like free dental care). These need to be checked every time.
Benefits can be different if you are working more than 16 hours a week in a paid job. The minimum wage will affect how long you can work before you need to be sure that thye are taking the right decision.

Employers

Attitudes - a lot of employers do not understand learning disabilities and hoave no knowlegde or wrong ideas.
Knowledge - we need to do more to help employers realise how people with learning disbailities can do jobs, what skills they have and the valuable contribution they can make to the workforce.
Information on disabilities - looking at everyone as a person and not making wrong assumptions.
Not all employers know how many people with learning disabilities they employ. This sometimes is because of the way they record information.
Information on support available - employers need to have confidence that there is training and support.

Skills Issues

It is unrealistic to expect the employee to be able to function unsupported on the first day. People need to be able to build up appropriate skills in the early weeks, and the employer may need help in this.
There is an important role for work experience to ensure genuine choices are made. This means the individual will know what the work actually is.
The skills of regular routine, travelling to work and commitment to the job are all part of Social Services day servicesį independent living activity and are for everybody.

Supported Employment

Short - there are many situations for people to gain experience despite "permitted earning" issues and including voluntary work opportunities.
Long term - supporting people in long arrangements is vital to maintaining employment, both for individuals and for the employer to be prepared to offer more people work.

Social Enterprises

There are only a small range of activities in Warwickshire offering a number of social enterprise jobs both for learning disability and others.

Transport Problems

Transport is available to People with learning Disabilities whilst at Day Services. When exploring work, training to volunteering opportunities, if people also have to arrange their won travel, they can become demotivated.
Travelling to work in rural areas presents challeges for the whole community - including people with learning disabilities.
The transport support thorugh the "Access to Work" scheme is very confusing. We need to encourage more training to allow people with disabilities to travel to work independently.

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