Disclosure

Whether or not to disclose your impairment or illness to an employer?

Telling a potential employer that you have a disability is often a dilemma. This is often because so often in the past many disabled people were treated unfairly by employers simply due to misconceptions and prejudice. And although the Disability Discrimination act is law there is still a fear that discrimination will continue.

There are good points and bad points dependent upon your personal views and situations. Some things to think about are:

• Employment is covered by the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA). This means it is unlawful for employers to discriminate against disabled people in their recruitment and selection procedures;
• If you're invited for an interview and need practical support, such as a sign language interpreter or help getting to the interview, you won't be entitled to support if you Don't tell the employer before hand;
• If employers know that you are disabled they can make "reasonable adjustments" so that you are able to perform your job if you are selected;
• If you attend the interview and you have not told the employer that you are disabled they may be taken by surprise. Then they may become too focussed on your impairment or illness during the interview instead of finding out whether you are right for the job.